Sanctuary*
Sean MurphyI visited my mother’s grave the first several years for the same reason I used to attend church: it was expected, it was meant to make me feel better, it…
For My Mother on Her 70th Birthday
I’m scared, I said. “It’s okay,” she said. “You know I’ll never leave you, right? I would never leave this place without you.” How many times did she tell me…
Art and Life (One Year Later)
(2003) Every so often I can’t help hoping that there will be a knock on my door and when I open it, who is there but my sexy soul mate,…
July 28, 1979: The Long Way Home (Revisited)
If I ever need to check myself and consider what a privileged life I've led, I simply need to recall that moving across town in the summer of '79 was…
Technology and Privacy, Cont’d…
The ongoing controversy surrounding Edward Snowden has reminded me that the issues of privacy are not recent. Indeed, the notion of "other people" knowing what you are doing at all…
A Not-So-Modest Proposal
Wouldn't it be fantastic if, in addition to bumper stickers and salutes at ball games, we supported funding and social programs (and give more than fleeting thoughts) for the well-being…
Creativity vs. Cancer
Humanity, creativity and compassion in the face of suffering: that's where I find my faith. More on this story, HERE. It reminds me of THIS and THIS and THIS (more, below): I’m trying to…
Memorial Day*
I. I'll Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive Cyrus has never actually discussed his brief stint in the army that took him to Vietnam. On a couple of occasions…
This Week in Music: 1983
I don't know what you were up to but I was partying like it was 1983. Due to the miracles of technology, we can see precisely how I was living,…
Every Time I Scribble A Thought With Artistic Intent
I’m fortunate, in a sense, to be the type of person that gets more sentimental about the times I read a certain book or heard a particular album than I…