I find myself in a strange space. I have had a fine appointment with the pulmonologist in which he expressed astonishment (almost) at the results of my recent CT scan. This time, he began to use the words scar tissue interchangeably with inflammation. His previous diagnosis was ‘Interstitial Lung Disease, a medical umbrella term we … Continue reading What Now? 6/16/24
Author: Septuagenarian
the desert
“The Desert leaves us disoriented, desperate for direction, grasping for meaning longing for solid ground. For endless miles we are confronted with a lack of clarity and existential dread. We are hungry, thirsty pleading with life to get back to normal-to become animated by the simple pleasantries of day-to-day life. The desert offers no such … Continue reading the desert
GREY 4/26/24
I had a dream in which the color grey appeared over and over in different forms. It was potent enough that I knew there was a message in it. When I woke up, I thought about how this color has played an odd and surprising role in the past five years. It began in Denver … Continue reading GREY 4/26/24
The Will 4/10/24
It was a five-month process that culminated today. I called the event “the signing ceremony.” In 2008, when I first drafted my will, I was 61, feeling healthy, pain free, busy building my business and riding my horse. I was still clutching my Boomer Attitude of invincibility and was pretty flippant about all the end-of-life … Continue reading The Will 4/10/24
The Lumpy Pillow
It all started when I traveled to a friend’s house and stayed in her guest room. For two nights, I couldn’t sleep as the pillows seemed to be filled with little clumps that felt like soft ping pong balls. As I tossed and turned, my mind came up with a solution. I would purchase a … Continue reading The Lumpy Pillow
Halcyon
Adjective – characterized by happiness, great success and prosperity. This story involves the most important part of the horse. As old cowboys say, “No hoof – no horse.” In the wild, horses roam freely over the earth and wear down their hooves naturally. When we domesticated them, we extended their life span yet also removed … Continue reading Halcyon
Transfiguration
I knew Kathie was in a coma. Yet, I also felt compelled to go and be with her. There were many obstacles on the path that delayed my arrival at her hospital room. By the time I reached her bedside, she was clinically ‘dead.’ I entered the darkened room and sat quietly beside her. Going … Continue reading Transfiguration
Friendship
I want to write about friendship. I have learned from a very knowledgeable confidant that our friendships are related to our attachment styles. We develop these styles based on our very first attachment, or bond – with our mother - the human being out of which we emerged and upon whom we depended for our … Continue reading Friendship
Connection – a Mystery
I have wanted to write this story for a while now, yet each time I try, I bump into the fact that I am attempting to explain a Mystery. I cannot find words. I see evidence everywhere that we are all connected; we are all part of an unfathomable web of life and that we … Continue reading Connection – a Mystery
A Portable Paradise
A poem by Roger Robinson And if I speak of Paradise then I am speaking of my grandmother who told me to carry it always on my person concealed, so no one else would know it but me that way, they can’t steal it, she’d say. And if life puts you under pressure trace its … Continue reading A Portable Paradise
Stories & Pictures 