“In such a world of conflict, a world of victims and executioners, it is the job of thinking people, not to be on the side of the executioners.”- Camus
The jackets are torn, disfigured by bar codes, pages stained, mementos falling out — clippings, cards, photos. The book as palimpsest, the opposite of the skull on the desk, not memento mori but unum quod potest ire in, “one that may go on”. I am not a collector, not a bibliophile. Over 50 years I have moved several thousand books out of my keeping. I have culled the darlings repeatedly. […]
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It is a simple meal. Good spaghetti, good sweet sausage first browned and then cooked in a sauce made from tomatoes and a little olive oil and a little wine and a pinch of sugar. Add a nice red, a merlot or a cabernet. Avoid cheese. It smothers the sauce and makes the dish heavy. A slice of garlic bread for the texture and crunch. Take one helping only. Save […]
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We have had three, 28 total years of dog life between them. They have trained me to meet their needs. I think that’s what border collies do so well with their “Please sir, do this” replies to commands. I follow through to please them while believing, not really, that I am the master. I have fallen in love with them, with their curious cocking of the head when they are […]
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Requiem for the Croppies by Seamus Heaney The pockets of our greatcoats full of barley… No kitchens on the run, no striking camp… We moved quick and sudden in our own country. The priest lay behind ditches with the tramp. A people hardly marching… on the hike… We found new tactics happening each day: We’d cut through reins and rider with the pike And stampede cattle into infantry, Then retreat […]
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