modern times

I spent my boyhood fishing for mosquito fish here with an aquarium net on a broom handle, originally uploaded by gurdonark.

A whirlwind trip to San Francisco--a quick flight in the night before, the briefest of walks at a shorebird park sans shorebirds, a set of meetings, a lunch at a charming outdoor pasta place another bit of a meeting, and a long-ish and delayed flight home, with the fascinating and troubling Niebuhr biography.

Once upon a time, my life was lived in the main in a town so small one could walk from one end to the other in half an hour. No frequent flier miles, no calendar to keep, no internet, no e-mail, no cell phone, no messages to return to by long distance.

stray thoughts

Gurdon Railroad Depot, in 2008, Gurdon, Arkansas, originally uploaded by gurdonark.

Grocery-store sushi with edamame. Finishing a book on Reinhold Nieibuhr and being struck by the nature of choices--and their consequences. E-mails from fellow choir members about last weekend's reunion. Kinds words from a netlabel fellow. Long lists of things to do. Buying 5 lottery tickets as I have projects I would pursue if I won money in an unexpected and not particularly creditable way.

I want to learn Inkscape better. Seeing about tickets to a finger-picking guitar Grammy winner on Friday. A kestrel in light. Cute little girl next door trying to ride her bike without training wheels. Daydreaming about the Grand Prix Attack reversed. A moment of anxiety. The afternoon mail brought a hand-written letter of congratulations as to a recent small non-jury trial I won, from the attorney who referred me the business. I must remember to pay more attention to such heart-warming small things.

Bunnies everywhere--perhaps the housing development next door impacted the coyote population. A biography of DeBussy to read.
Charming cash register attending woman at the half-priced books--a moment of interconnection, a word spoken, a kind smile. Sometimes life is like throwing tarot, except that all the cards are from the 52 card deck, and also they are all face cards in hearts and diamonds.

Working on a dark, dissonant remix built upon a sample from a lap steel. Thinking about non-profits. Talking about sauerkraut in Alsace and, to swtich regions, the heroic people of Le-Chambon-sur-Lignon. Reading a Felix Adler quote. Thinking about forgiveness.