At times I’ve secretly wished that things would be arranged especially on my behalf. You see, I generally take a Sunday afternoon nap, and I think it would be very nice if it would rain every Sunday afternoon between 2 and 5. Not a heavy rain, but a nice rain (an inch and a half…

#1 I’ve been out gathering pecans lately. I’ve enjoyed it. Pecans are falling in great masses, and they’ve been falling from trees for which I have absolutely no responsibility. I feel a lot like my ancient ancestors. You know the ones…those hunter-gatherers who lived on the edge of a savannah somewhere. They owned no land,…

I happen to live very near a cemetery. This last week on The Eve of All Hallows. The cemetery saw lots of traffic. All night long (at least until 3 AM when I stopped paying attention) cars would drive through- sometimes very slowly. The lights would turn out, I’d hear car doors slam, and I…

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer, 19th–20th century (executed ca. 1880; cast in 1922) By Edgar Degas (1834–1917); Cast by A. A. Hébrard Made in Paris, France Bronze, partially tinted, with cotton skirt and satin hair-ribbon; wood base; H. (w/out base) 39 in. (99.1 cm) H.O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H.O.…

Fifty years ago this week Ayn Rand published one of her greatest novels, Atlas Shrugged. Ayn Rand has always had a strong cult following. I can’t say I’m one of them but I do like her books, and this week’s anniversary of Atlas Shrugged put me in mind of my favorite Rand novel, The Fountainhead,…

Schoolhouse lilies began to bloom this week in my yard. It means a new year begins, a new school year that is. As I look back on my youth, the New Year did not begin January 1st; it began the first day of school. Everything began all new and fresh- new pencils and pens, new…