Mountain Gardening
I do not have a green thumb. Yet, I have always kept a garden, even if it was just a small plot along the side of the house or plants in pots on terraces in Texas, Baltimore, Alexandria and now here on the deck outside the dining room at Vanaprastha. Fresh herbs...
Friendship
A friend of mine, who I have known for twenty-five years, came to Vanaprastha this past weekend, giving rise again to thoughts about abiding friendships. In C.S. Lewis’ The Four Loves– family affection, friendship, romance, charity – Lewis states, “…Friendship [is]...
The Optimist and the Pessimist
When we were growing up, my father told us the story of the Optimist and the Pessimist - the Maine farm boy version. I can see my father’s tall-drink-of-water frame sitting in the captain’s chair at the head of the dining room table, his large hands taking his...
Cars are Transportation
“What kind of car does your family drive?” the teacher asked. Maybe her question came from a social studies lesson, or something else. It was the 1950’s in rural-suburban Woodbridge, Connecticut outside New Haven. Each student in my older sister Jane’s second grade...
Strange Kind of Love
Last week, I wrote about Professionals. Here is a scene from two decades ago, again featuring my son David. As far as professionalism was concerned, we were both works in progress. David was missing. My two children and I lived in Los Rios, a community of...