Perceived Slights Of A Southern Gentleman, Caged Animals And Broken Hearts

Seems I've run out of things to want. Funny thing is, I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Oh, I mean there's world peace, true love, living forever and all that.

When it comes to stuff, though, somehow I've had pretty much every single thing that I've ever desired. Same with experiences. I've been where I've wanted to go. I've danced with the ones that I wanted to dance with.

Maybe I just never had enough ambition. Imagination. 

My memories tell me that ain't it.

It's Not What You've Got, It's What You've Had

After Elvis nothing was ever the same.

Everything in my life changed again with the Beatles.

This plague will likely be the last life-changing episode in my go-round.

Honestly, I was kinda' hoping for something a little more upbeat. It's beautiful outside. No rain in the forecast. I do, however, sense revolution.

The Value Of Good Intentions

The most decent of the kids from my seventh grade class grew up with Atticus Finch their moral lodestar. Rightly so. 

Me? Boo Radley. Of course it has taken me a very long time to realize it.

My two friends who pointed out to me my social awkwardness did me a favor. A big favor.

Seems to me that Harper Lee painted Atticus and Boo with the same brush. Most of us aspire to kindness and decency. 

Gregory Peck can't play all the roles.

Hang 'em If You've Got 'em

The apple. Pandora's box. Burning bushes. They have to sneak us truth, disguised in myth, fable, parable. I listened to the smartest man I know yesterday telling us that it's just all about the golden rule. That's it.

Funny- I know that because I'm not particularly bright. He knows it because of how bright he is.

We are seeing the best and the worst of humanity right now. Love hard.

Cigars and Jasmine and Opposable Thumbs

Well, the resurrection ferns are bright green, providing more hope than eighteen hours of cable news. All my life I've rebelled and, for the most part, nobody noticed.

Old souls and heroes and revolutionaries command my divided attention. This one's coming for them, too, this time. 

Too old? Too old, indeed. I had even less to offer as a young man.

Pray for peace. Search for truth. Settle for love.

Look It Up

The few folks that I pass on these morning walks are out for exercise. Fresh air. I'm out for memories. Most of them are bittersweet- full of love, reminders of loss. Sometimes I'm sure that love lasts forever. Other times, even my memories have a gossamer quality.

Every other step or two still reminds me of her. It's been two years now. I talk to her every day. I don't even try to tell myself that she hears me. I do it for me.

Just before I got home today, a gardenia bush intruded my space from over a block wall. The glorious fragrance stays with me now reminding me of tales of Lottie. Oh, my- she loved her gardenia bush.

Look up romantic, noun. Now, google fool, noun. A fine line, no?

Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war.

Good Guys and Bad Guys, Soldiers and Saints

From here it looks to me like there are no good guys or bad guys. There are saints and there are the rest of us. 

The saints don't seem to judge. They just love.

They don't distinguish between myth and miracle and they don't quibble over verse and chapter while  living things suffer. Don't look to recruit the saints to your political side or expect them to support your war.

Give us peace on earth. Stay home if you can.