Old Truck | Waterville, WA | 2017
“As we go within the self, we discover that all the voices of our past lives are still there. As we peel ourselves, which is (more…)
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Hat | Rock Island, WA | 2017
Consider the hat. It protects the head, warms the scalp and, if rakishly applied, flatters the wearer. Underneath and inside, a brain percolates: judgments (burger or fish-n-chips?), concerns (will the waitress notice me?), memories (dog bounding at sunset on stormy beach). Now consider the hat’s loyal supporter — the hat rack — and one particular rack in a bustling restaurant at a busy truck stop. How many (more…)
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Glide | East Wenatchee, WA | 2018
There’s a way, I think, to move through life with minimum struggle and maximum ease. At age 65, I still haven’t learned exactly how it’s done, but I’m getting close. The method emerges from acceptance and gratitude for what’s right in front of me. Sunlight, tennis shoes, bird on water, cranky store clerk, longtime lover — all of it. In fact, I’m convinced a more effortless life comes from (more…)
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In the Car Wash | East Wenatchee, WA | 2018
The automatic car wash seems to me a technological miracle on par with intermittent windshield wipers. It’s a melding of chemistry, hydraulics and robotics that is largely overlooked and under-appreciated. Really. Crowds should gather to (more…)
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Modern Art | Rockland, ME | 2018
“Heck, I could do that.” Many people view contemporary art — particularly abstract art — as the dots, dabs and dribbles of the unskilled, wannabe artist. You know, someone who can’t draw. Recently, I came to the opposite conclusion while watching a local abstract artist sketch using a waxed charcoal block. Like a big crayon. A dozen quick swipes produced a confusion of lines and shapes that, when held upright for my perusal, coalesced into (more…)
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Hand | Wiscasset, ME | 2018
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp / Or what’s a heaven for?
— Poet Robert Browning
Florida writer Robert D. Shepherd, a frequent contributor to the question-and-answer website Quora, explains the origin of this famous phrase: “It’s from Robert Browning’s wonderful, sad poem ‘Andrea del Sarto,‘ about an elderly painter married to a young wife. The wife is preparing to go out for the evening. The line is a comment on (more…)
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Jeans | Belfast, ME | 2018Bertha, the maid who took care of us as kids, used to say she knew everything about me when she hung my jeans on the line. Frayed hems: “You a sloppy walker,” she said. Worn seat: “Lordy, too much TV.” Broken zipper: “I don’t even want to guess.” And it’s the truth. A pair of worn jeans (more…)
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