Exploring the Third Season of Life

Notes from Vanaprastha

Reflections on Faith, Nature, and Writing

Recent Posts

Point of View

Point of View

A wealthy landlord, Ximen Nao, is shot and killed by one of his fellow villagers as part of land reform after the Communist takeover in China. Ximen Nao sees himself as an honest, hard-working man, a good son, devoted father, a loving spouse to his wife and two...

Ditches

Ditches

One morning last week, Keith and I loaded the bed of the truck with a shovel, rakes, bush cutter, gloves, leaf blower, and ear-covers. We headed down the mountain road to pick up where we left off the previous week. The road is our lifeline so we clean ditches...

Perfect

Perfect

Have you ever had a 'perfect' waiter or waitress? “Mixed green salad? Perfect!” “Grilled salmon with capers? Perfect!” “Crème Brulee? Perfect!” Yeah, I know, ‘perfect’ is all about buttering up the customer for a larger tip.   I used to love being perfect. My...

My Father’s Bible

My Father’s Bible

Presented to Raymond S. Duff, July 14, 1943, by Mother, Num. 6:24-26. My grandmother sent this Bible to my father when he was in the middle of infantry training in North Camp Hood, Texas. She referred him to a passage in the book of Numbers about God’s protection,...

Summer 1970

Summer 1970

Not quite nineteen the summer of 1970, I was a member of The Edward Malley Company’s College Board. Malley’s was a now-defunct department store in New Haven, Connecticut, similar to and competitive with Macy’s. I worked retail that summer, spending the rest of my...

The Way of Nature

The Way of Nature

Early Thursday morning, as I drove the truck down the mountain, heading to class in Charlottesville, I noticed a box turtle poised on the side of the road. I thought of a previous post I’d written about interfering with nature. Since those of us who live on the...