Exploring the Third Season of Life

Notes from Vanaprastha

Reflections on Faith, Nature, and Writing

Recent Posts

Eating Dessert First

Eating Dessert First

Life is uncertain…eat dessert first. Remember that t-shirt slogan? On vacation last week, Keith and I visited Michie Tavern in Charlottesville. We helped ourselves to the buffet in the Necessary, ate in the Keeping Hall and shared a dessert of peach cobbler a la...

Radio Essays

Radio Essays

“You’d think I’d asked to sleep with the football team.” “Ok, Tweeple, let’s clean up the language.” “I became a vegetarian in Africa.” “You might not know, but I’m watching you.” Sitting around the seminar table, Keith and I listened to opening lines written by...

Pride

Pride

Last Thanksgiving, I wrote about pride and humility. Today, with yet another graduation speech trending on the Internet, I'm thinking about self-conceit in a different context.   Earlier this month, Wellesley High School English teacher David McCullough, Jr.,...

Fourth Drafts

Fourth Drafts

Whenever I sit down to write a first draft or begin any creative project for that matter, my first effort is usually a childish mess that only a mother could love. Out of that mess comes something that might be good enough for a high school assignment, maybe even a...

Whining

Whining

This past weekend, I logged into one of my email accounts, in order to send a message to my mother, and received this error statement: The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request. Please contact the server...

Heathcliff Finds a Turtle

Heathcliff Finds a Turtle

This weekend, during our routine pre-sunrise walk, Heathcliff and I found a box turtle making her way across the rarely travelled, gravel turn-around. Perhaps the turtle sought shelter in the accumulated leaves and mud on the other side, a place to lay her eggs or...