thoughts & observations

Droplets drumming ripstop nylon? Hard shoes and suitcases hitting cobblestones? Gentle voices from down the way? I can’t hear the meaning, but feel the intent. Introspection has a soundtrack. It’s not quite music. It’s close enough, but simultaneously far. It is isolated details, still part the whole, insisting one pays attention. It is an aural…

“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;” The third line in W.B. Yeats’ The Second Coming is playing on repeat in my head. That makes some sense, given the times we live in today are not unlike 1919 when he wrote the poem. Russia was in turmoil, technology was shifting rapidly, political and economic systems were out…

Falling flat, losing your balance, possibly suffering injury or at least a bruised ego. How could that be funny? Years ago I tried to lighten up a professional trade conference. I pulled out a t-shirt cannon and watched the fabric missiles sail over the audience’s heads and to the back row. It was a terrible…

Would you like to read a preview? If you haven’t had the time yet to read “Chasing Lights“, don’t worry, this is not part of a sequel so there won’t be any crucial plot points to miss. I’ve been tinkering with a new book and if you are looking for a little summer escapist reading,…

I noticed a simple menu card. Is it Swiss? Is it New York, Polynesian, or French cuisine? Or should I call it Japanese since I saw it in a Tokyo hotel translated for the convenience of their guests? I see cards like this in a lot of places in different languages. Familiar dishes from around…

A smart real estate investor once told me an essential counter-intuitive rule – don’t fall in love with a building. He pointed out that focusing on perfect architecture, the grace of an arch, an elaborate facade, or a pleasing balance was to miss the point. A building can be beautiful or ugly, but at the…

Can a person not hurt others…ever? Is it possible to always do the right, or at least avoid the wrong? Or failing that, can the hurt be kept to oneself? I try to be ‘nice’, but that doesn’t prevent darkness. Just as the foundations of a beautiful bridge has grime and rust, so does my…

A book published. Mission accomplished and proof of value in a perfect case-bound hardback with a bio photo in the back. It feels different from the way I imagined it. It’s not like winning a race, arms over head as the ribbon breaks across the chest. Nor does it feel like a completion…just somewhere farther…

I have climbed a few mountains – not tall enough for specialized gear and oxygen tanks, but climbing nonetheless. Growing up in Alaska, there were more than a few peaks to explore. Looking up at mountains from below, I imagine what it must be like on top, to sit on the knife’s edge and see…

For me, Memorial Day weekend and the start of summer this year was mostly wet. Was it a disappointment? Maybe. Rain delays disrupt the game and we are forced to wait it out. Summer days are supposed to overflow with sunshine. But do you remember delight as you jumped from puddle to puddle in rubber…