A simple place for essays, experiments, and useful ideas.
Notes and essays, organized by date.
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659 published posts across 11 pages.
March 22, 2021
The evening started with an old pen on the kitchen table and no great feeling of readiness. I said the short prayer anyway. Not because the room changed, and not because I suddenly understood what to do next. Prayer is…
March 22, 2021
The receipt was too long for the meal, which somehow felt right. A good counter can forgive a rushed lunch.
March 21, 2021
A folded napkin sat next to the open page, and Psalm 23 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks pa…
March 17, 2021
Saw a mourning dove near the road and almost missed it. It was there, then it was gone. The street felt a little less ordinary for about five seconds.
March 14, 2021
I had John Donne open with a church bulletin nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the chai…
March 11, 2021
A catbird held still near the road longer than I expected. Traffic kept moving. A door shut somewhere. The bird or animal did not seem interested in becoming a lesson. That is probably why I noticed it. Suburban New Jer…
March 9, 2021
The afternoon started with gas-station coffee in the cup holder and no great feeling of readiness. I said the short prayer anyway. Not because the room changed, and not because I suddenly understood what to do next. Pra…
March 8, 2021
A library receipt sat next to the open page, and James 1 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks p…
March 7, 2021
A chipped mug sat next to the open page, and John 1 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks past i…
March 6, 2021
Passed through Linden and caught one small thing: a sign, a doorway, somebody carrying coffee too carefully. That was the whole note. Some towns are mostly made of things you only see while stopped at a light.
March 6, 2021
I had William Wordsworth open with a library receipt nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in…
March 5, 2021
The water near Echo Lake looked like it knew something and was not going to share. Fair enough. I mostly went there to look at it anyway.
March 1, 2021
A church bulletin sat next to the open page, and John 1 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks pa…
March 1, 2021
Fanwood looked ordinary from the road, which is usually when a place is easiest to underestimate. Union County keeps a lot of its memory in street names, rail crossings, old storefront shapes, and the odd bend of traffi…
February 28, 2021
Read Romans 8 while the house was still half-noisy. I did not get far. One sentence was enough to interrupt the mood I was carrying.
February 25, 2021
The smaller station is often where a traveler starts noticing again. Big cities tell you what to look at. Smaller towns leave more work to the eye: a bakery window, a narrow street, a quiet market, a train board clickin…
February 23, 2021
Passed through Summit and caught one small thing: a sign, a doorway, somebody carrying coffee too carefully. That was the whole note. Some towns are mostly made of things you only see while stopped at a light.
February 22, 2021
I had Emily Dickinson open with cold coffee nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the chair…
February 20, 2021
A blue jay held still near the road longer than I expected. Traffic kept moving. A door shut somewhere. The bird or animal did not seem interested in becoming a lesson. That is probably why I noticed it. Suburban New Je…
February 18, 2021
Proverbs 3 was the page I opened to, and I almost closed it too quickly. Some days a familiar line only needs a second chance.
February 18, 2021
The page of Byron was sitting beside a library receipt, which was probably the right amount of drama for the room. Byron is easy to admire for the wrong reasons. The speed, the pose, the beautiful wound, the refusal to…
February 17, 2021
The thing that stayed with me was not a headline but a kitchen detail: rationing, blackout cloth, a careful hand with what was left. World War II can become too clean in memory if it is only told through victories. The…
February 16, 2021
I had Christina Rossetti open with a church bulletin nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in…
February 14, 2021
The smaller station is often where a traveler starts noticing again. Big cities tell you what to look at. Smaller towns leave more work to the eye: a bakery window, a narrow street, a quiet market, a train board clickin…
February 13, 2021
The table in Summit had a paper napkin under one leg and coffee that had been sitting too long. That is not a complaint. Some meals are remembered because the room makes room for a tired person. Neighborhood food is nev…
February 12, 2021
The line went out badly near Warinanco Park, and there was no way to pretend otherwise. Fishing has a way of making impatience visible. The water does not care how clean the cast looked in a person's head. I watched the…
February 12, 2021
Matthew 6 showed up again today, this time with cold coffee on the counter in view. No big lesson. I just noticed that the line had more patience than I did.
February 10, 2021
A heron held still near the road longer than I expected. Traffic kept moving. A door shut somewhere. The bird or animal did not seem interested in becoming a lesson. That is probably why I noticed it. Suburban New Jerse…
February 8, 2021
A simple plate can feel like a relief when food has become too loud. I understand why people are drawn to fewer choices. It can quiet the bargaining for a while. That does not make it magic, and it does not make it righ…
February 4, 2021
Proverbs 3 was the page I opened to, and I almost closed it too quickly. Some days a familiar line only needs a second chance.
February 4, 2021
A goldfinch held still near the road longer than I expected. Traffic kept moving. A door shut somewhere. The bird or animal did not seem interested in becoming a lesson. That is probably why I noticed it. Suburban New J…
February 3, 2021
I had William Blake open with a pocket notebook nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the c…
February 1, 2021
A grocery receipt sat next to the open page, and John 1 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks pa…
January 31, 2021
The old war notes I was reading made me think less about speeches and more about boots, mud, and mail. World War I becomes too large to hold if it stays only on maps. The smaller details bring it back down to human size…
January 28, 2021
The afternoon started with an old pen on the kitchen table and no great feeling of readiness. I said the short prayer anyway. Not because the room changed, and not because I suddenly understood what to do next. Prayer i…
January 28, 2021
I had John Donne open with a library receipt nearby and the room getting a little darker. The poem did not explain itself all at once. The better lines rarely do. They stay put while the reader shifts around in the chai…
January 26, 2021
The late hour started with a folded napkin by the plate and no great feeling of readiness. I said the short prayer anyway. Not because the room changed, and not because I suddenly understood what to do next. Prayer is o…
January 25, 2021
Stopped near Echo Lake long enough to check the water and make one bad cast. No fish. No tragedy. The wind had better timing than I did.
January 23, 2021
The counter had a sugar packet stuck to it and a stool that turned a little too easily. Old diners and neighborhood bars were not perfect rooms. They were public rooms, which is different and maybe more useful. A person…
January 22, 2021
The table in Westfield had a paper napkin under one leg and coffee that had been sitting too long. That is not a complaint. Some meals are remembered because the room makes room for a tired person. Neighborhood food is…
January 22, 2021
The old war notes I was reading made me think less about speeches and more about boots, mud, and mail. World War I becomes too large to hold if it stays only on maps. The smaller details bring it back down to human size…
January 22, 2021
The line went out badly near Warinanco Park, and there was no way to pretend otherwise. Fishing has a way of making impatience visible. The water does not care how clean the cast looked in a person's head. I watched the…
January 20, 2021
A grocery receipt sat next to the open page, and James 1 did not need much decoration. I read it slowly because I have a bad habit of making familiar words too easy. A verse can become furniture if a person only walks p…
January 18, 2021
A red-tailed hawk held still near the road longer than I expected. Traffic kept moving. A door shut somewhere. The bird or animal did not seem interested in becoming a lesson. That is probably why I noticed it. Suburban…
January 16, 2021
A mourning dove had the whole block to itself for a moment. Nobody else seemed to notice. That made it better.
January 16, 2021
The page of Byron was sitting beside a chipped mug, which was probably the right amount of drama for the room. Byron is easy to admire for the wrong reasons. The speed, the pose, the beautiful wound, the refusal to sit…
January 14, 2021
The table in Union had a paper napkin under one leg and coffee that had been sitting too long. That is not a complaint. Some meals are remembered because the room makes room for a tired person. Neighborhood food is neve…
January 12, 2021
A church bulletin folded in half was enough to slow the late hour down for a minute. Most days do not announce what they are going to mean. They leave small evidence and let a person decide whether to notice. I am tryin…
January 12, 2021
The thought started at a bus stop, looking at the places people pass before anyone knows their name. Public lives can look inevitable from a distance. They never are. Everyone starts on some street, in some kitchen, und…
January 10, 2021
The evening started with a church bulletin folded in half and no great feeling of readiness. I said the short prayer anyway. Not because the room changed, and not because I suddenly understood what to do next. Prayer is…
January 9, 2021
A rabbit had the whole block to itself for a moment. Nobody else seemed to notice. That made it better.
January 2, 2021
The evening started with a bus stop bench after rain and no great feeling of readiness. I said the short prayer anyway. Not because the room changed, and not because I suddenly understood what to do next. Prayer is ofte…
January 1, 2021
A poem is a good thing to read when the room is too full of errands. Christina Rossetti did not fix the day. It gave it a better edge.
December 31, 2020
The thing that stayed with me was not a headline but a kitchen detail: rationing, blackout cloth, a careful hand with what was left. World War II can become too clean in memory if it is only told through victories. The…
December 29, 2020
A deer held still near the road longer than I expected. Traffic kept moving. A door shut somewhere. The bird or animal did not seem interested in becoming a lesson. That is probably why I noticed it. Suburban New Jersey…
December 28, 2020
The old war notes I was reading made me think less about speeches and more about boots, mud, and mail. World War I becomes too large to hold if it stays only on maps. The smaller details bring it back down to human size…
December 25, 2020
The shoes were by the door before I felt like walking. That is usually how health works for me. The useful thing has to be started before the mood agrees to it. Sleep, food, walking, lifting, water, less noise. None of…
December 24, 2020
Read Byron late, which is probably when he does the most damage. The line had style. The mood around it needed watching.
December 23, 2020
The shoes were by the door before I felt like walking. That is usually how health works for me. The useful thing has to be started before the mood agrees to it. Sleep, food, walking, lifting, water, less noise. None of…
December 21, 2020
The counter had a sugar packet stuck to it and a stool that turned a little too easily. Old diners and neighborhood bars were not perfect rooms. They were public rooms, which is different and maybe more useful. A person…