I tossed a poem to the sea That took with it my questions And my voice. Like a slow ship It got lost in the spray. I asked it not to return Without having seen the open sea And in dreams Telling me of its visions Even if it didn’t return I would know [...]
My First Tape Recorder I think in a way I'm lucky to have grown up in an era where a certain number of things have really changed in technology; nothing like my grandmother who saw the invention of the automobile and the airplane and many more significant advancements in her life, but still there's [...]
On Sunday I was walking along the familiar strip of beach at the secret place. It was a beautiful, verdant day with so much promise of Spring. I was doing the usual - scoping for sea glass. The tide was high so there was very little beach which usually means that you’ll find a [...]
I was moving some books around on my shelves tonight and dropped one. I remembered that scene in “Next Stop Wonderland” where the book shop owner advises the woman to read something out of a book she drops. Well this was a little book I’ve never read. It’s by Anna Quindlen, who has written [...]
I was cleaning out these old music magazines from the studio and I came across this ancient interview with Coleman Hawkins, widely considered one of the greatest jazz players ever. The interview is reprinted here from the late ’40s. I noticed whenever I had read this the first time (must have been like when [...]
I was noticing on the walk to my office from my local haunt of morning caffeine what became my contemplation for the day. Because I had my umbrella raised against the constant rain I was kind of looking down as I walked. I noticed the incredible things that were going on in the reflections [...]
I don’t generally do traditional resolutions. Although I’m still searching for that elusive cure to cancer and I’d like to lose the flat-tire around my waist, I try to come up with a phrase or saying that I can recall that will sort of be a point of reference. One year for example I [...]
Shades of Grey I was thinking this morning (contemplating) while walking in Lake Park that the light was such that it almost appeared as though I was looking at a black and white photo. I've always loved b&w photography. The dark gray of the tree branches and the whiteness of the new snow were [...]
Back in 1997 I went through a pretty dramatic depression. It was not only attendant to a miserable divorce but also to the things that experience brought me to look at. I underwent a lot of therapy, took antidepressants and slowly learned that the only way out was through; to learn a different way [...]
Each day I try to contemplate one thing of beauty. It can come from anywhere; the color of the sky at sunset, a tree observed on the way to work, a view of the lake or less likely places such as the sound of the train in the distance as heard from my office. [...]
