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ON THE SHELF
He found the cup by the curb one morning walking to the bus.He rarely notice things on his walk, thinking always about theday ahead. But this day he saw it, picked it up and put it in hismessenger bag intending to clean it later, when he got homeafter work. He had no idea why he…
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MARCHING TO OBLIVION
The most disturbing thingabout lemmings is notthat they follow one after anotherover a cliff or into traffic,it is not the carnagethat inevitably ensues,one after another doomedby the need to follow blindly. The disturbing thingis not the knowledge thatlemmings only follow,so someone directedthe first in line intoa suicidal act. The most disturbing thingis that lemmingsdo not…
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NESSLESS
There are no monstersin this lake I tellmy granddaughter, answeringher unasked question.There are bears in the woodsaround here and thereused to be an owl which madean afternoon visit.There are deer, certainlyand there could be a coyoteor two. If you don’tbelieve me, ask the crows,everyone knows that theycan never keep a secret. First published in From…
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PARKING
It is the difference I always noticebetween small and large cities: the parks. When you sit deeply withinBoston Commons or Central Parkyou can feel the city alwaysthreatening to encroach andonce again make you its prisoner,smell and hear the city, trafficand trucks rumbling, hornsplayed in a cacophonous symphony. In small cities you can sit in a…
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IF IT STICKS
It is the Italian season in the southeast. This has nothing to do with the country, its food or language. Well a bit to do with food. It is hurricane season here, and when a storm arises, you can be certain most of us begin to scan the web for information, for weather can quickly…
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IMMEASUREABLE
The distance between truthand belief is as small as the widthof a hydrogen atom, yetas wide as the diameterof a galaxy of your choice. You say truth is relative, Iknow that it can morphin the face of circumstancebut that hardly makesrelativity a factor in truth. You say you believe in truth,at least as you see…
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SLICED CLICHE
He is fond of saying that heis the best thing since sliced bread. There is so much wrongwith that statement, evenignoring that he is the onewho keeps repeating it. If he were that great,and no one is rushing to suggestthat he has even approached it,wouldn’t he want to be justas great as sliced bread? And…
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THE LETTER
Today I should receive the letterthat I sent to myself twenty years ago,telling me what I should be, where Ishould be, who I should be, for the meof twenty years ago was, by his ownadmission, far smarter than I am, althoughI am here and he is nowhere to be found. If the letter does not…
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GREAT DANGER
There are those who saythat we are engagedin a culture war, and thatmay be an apt description,even as it misses its mark. It is hardly cultures thatare at war, but those whotake shelter under theirfalse mantle, armoredin labels, shielded by cliches. But the weapons of the warare quite real, knownfor ages, Stalin and Alexiecalling them…
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WHEREVER I LAY MY HEAD
You say that you are uncertainif this place yet feels like home,and look at me silentlyquestioning how I feel. I answer as silently thatyou are here, I am hereso it does feel like homejust as everywhere wouldwhen we are together there. Without speaking you remindme that even I would admita hotel room is not home…
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an old writer and his words 