Exploring the Third Season of Life

Notes from Vanaprastha

Reflections on Faith, Nature, and Writing

Recent Posts

Coincidence

Coincidence

Last week in my class at the Writer’s Center, I read a selection from the middle of my book. As usual, I received very helpful comments and suggestions ranging from conceptual to craft. Perhaps because the story I told had to do with the twenty-year span involving...

Confirmation Bias

Confirmation Bias

I like rules especially the ones that help me find my generic-looking car in a parking lot (always try to park in the same spot) or ease me through a multitude of routine tasks. The problem is that I tend to latch onto rules, sometimes without much thought. Last...

Sudden Showers

Sudden Showers

Have you ever been driving along in a rain shower, which suddenly turns into a blinding, thundering downpour? It’s not as if you didn’t see the storm coming. There had been plenty of warning. Looking out your bedroom windows while getting dressed for dinner, clouds...

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.,...