- Daily Life, Holy Days, I Never Thought I'd Be In This Situation, Paintings, Photographs, Prayers, Reflections, Saints, Short Stories
Feast of the Maid
He was feeling low that day, with all the regrets and bad decisions and missed opportunities of a lifetime revolving before him like a carousel, pulling him into that silent despondent cave where he sometimes found himself, with warmth and light and hope far outside, seemingly unreachable. Those moments felt like eternity, and eternity troubled him. The phone rang and he answered it, providing the lengthy greeting that was by now so natural for him to recite, the greeting ending with “How may I help you today?” The voice was female, faint, and warbly. “I need some help.” “I’d be glad to help you, ma’am. Is there something in particular…
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Altruism Uncut
I entered the store and left the city’s noise behind me on the other side of the glass. Born in the last century just six blocks away, I was a child of the concrete, but the shift in the air and in the streets over the decades had caused me to imagine often that I was going to sell the apartment and take Marcie to live in the country. We would shop at farmer’s markets and greet our neighbors by their first names and we would never hear sirens and we would sleep with nothing but screens between us and the trees and flowers outside. I longed to flee the…
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Beasts And Animals
The tent was cool inside, like a sawdust-floored church, and Cooper stepped in under the flap, his skin grateful for the swirling air, his eyes pleased with the lack of harsh light, his lungs receptive to the clean scent of wood fragments and hay and straw and leather and sun-warmed cloth. The grinding chaos of the carnival dropped away, muffled into near silence, even though it was pushed back by mere sheets of striped canvas and the sweet air within. Four children waited in line, their eyes on the carnival worker who was talking to them. A slender figure of sunburned leather, the carny gestured with his arms, describing circles…
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Unheeded By The Small Things
Unheeded By The Small Things The minute jewels gleam in the groove of the blade, climbed upon by tiny legs that neither displace nor diminish their shape nor beauty, and the rays pour down on the muted meadowscape, bringing heat and life, the ticking of an unseen clock driving the hours, hours unheeded by the small things, each of them precious in my sight, here on my site, in these days I have remaining, days in which I watch, bear witness, testify to ground-level majesty, days in which I catalog the singing joy of a life full of hours exchanged for these soft and secreted pleasures. These, my days. ~S.K.…
- Daily Life, I Never Thought I'd Be In This Situation, Movies, Mrs. Orr, Photographs, Prayers, Reflections
Horribilis Septimana
A truly unpleasant week is behind me now, and I am grateful for the passage of time. A rabbit came by the front door a while ago to nibble some buttercups, and he seemed at peace with his dangerous little world, so I suppose I can try to be at peace as well. First of all, a belated Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers among my regular readers. I’d also like to say Happy Mother’s Day to all the divorce-raped single fathers who do both jobs with love and devotion. See, that’s why it’s a good thing that I don’t have a Facebook account….I’d post something like that…
- Bluebelle, Daily Life, I Never Thought I'd Be In This Situation, Jinx, Mrs. Orr, Photographs, Prayers, Reflections
In The Carolean Era
We went Thursday evening to the orthopedic urgent care clinic I mentioned in my last post, and it was a surprisingly good experience. I was dreading any encounter with the post-coof medical/pharmaceutical behemoth, but this was an example of being in the right place at the right time. It was clear as soon as we entered the clinic that we were the only people in the place. The receptionist was kind and affable, and got me checked in quickly. An x-ray tech who looked like Lisa Loeb’s twin sister appeared with a most-welcome wheelchair and took me back for pictures of my knee. She, too, was very kind and personable,…
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My Knee Grows
For a couple of weeks now, my right knee has been giving me fits. I assumed it was arthritis at first, but then the pain increased gradually and reminded me of the time I hyperextended one of my knees several years ago. Been hobbling around for a few days, using a cane when walking farther than from room to room. I figured I hurt it when I hopped off the lawn tractor week before last and landed with some unsteadiness. This past Saturday, I broke the belt on the tractor and had to end up mowing the back yard with a push mower before it rained, planning to go the…
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A Short Testament
Often, prayer is beyond me, and this is due to many things. Poetry can so often herald the inner storm that might burst into prayer, but sometimes does not. This poem by Anne Porter is one of those lightning-rod works. I hope you feel its power and its pathos. ~ S.K. Orr A Short Testament by Anne Porter Whatever harm I may have done In all my life in all your wide creation creation If I cannot repair it I beg you to repair it, And then there are all the wounded The poor the deaf the lonely and the old Whom I have roughly dismissed As if I…
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Across The Silent Night Sky
The weekend was a mellow, mild, and very welcome time to be at home and with my wife. We didn’t launch into any major projects, but did a lot of what I call “piddling around,” and enjoyed being outside in the warm weather. I’ve learned not to overestimate my stamina anymore, so I don’t plan day-long series of projects. I do one, take a break, assess how I feel, then move on to another one IF I still have gas in my tank. We have had problems with squirrels getting into Mrs. Orr’s flowers in pots on the porches, so I cut circles from hardware fabric, cut a circle in…
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Soft Days
We finally saw our first hummingbird last evening and were so happy to see him. We were relaxing on the back porch and the whirr of his wings made us both look up in delight. He didn’t stay long, but here was there, so we were content. Bluebelle did her part….I had her on hummingbird sentry duty all day and had ordered her to sing a song to coax them in. Mrs. Orr got our taxes done, and I am reminded again of how gifted she is in so many ways, and how she takes so many burdens from my shoulders. A latent benefit of her doing the taxes instead…