an old writer and his words

  • BANG

    It all began with a Big Bangor that is what they wouldhave us believe, after alleverything must begin somewhere.If it did begin in thatsub-instant at some infinitely smallpoint, where was that point?There was no space for that pointto exist in, for it did not exist previouslyand anyway, space demands time,they must mutually existor neither will…

    Lou Faber

  • NEVER IMAGINING

    The bridge was there finally, and with some trepidation she crossed it. She knew it led to a brave (hopefully) new world. She knew it would take time and a lot of work to acclimate herself to this alien land, but she also knew there could be no turning back, for the place she knew…

    Lou Faber

  • IN PASSING

    There are always eerie momentswhen you learn of the deathof someone you knew brieflyseveral decades before.You struggle to remember allyou can of your interactions,places, events, even conversations.But the departed always seems justas they looked when you lastsaw them hardly older, hardto imagine death has claimedsomeone you see as young,while your mirror constantlyreminds you of how…

    Lou Faber

  • ON LEARNING PAINFULLY

    I cannot begin to tell youhow glad I am that I neverfollowed through on the ideaof flying to Lisbon and searchingfor you or some record of you.After all, she told the adoptionagency when she gave me upthat you were a Portuguese Jewshe met in Washington, D.C.so the odds were good you couldbe found in the…

    Lou Faber

  • UMMON’S SOUNDS AND SHAPES

    What is the soundof enlightenment?What is the colorof nirvana?How do youperceive enlightenmentand see nirvana?A sound maybring enlightenmentif you do not hear it,a color may leadyou to nirvanaif you do not see it. A reflection on Case 82 of the Book of Equanimity, Shoyoroku 従容錄

    Lou Faber

  • BOTH AND NEITHER

    We are both master and slaveand reverberating between rolescan be exhausting and exhilarating,on occasion both simultaneously.It seems we are always strivingto catch up to technology, that itis outpacing us and that the racemay soon enough be lost.We say that we cannot live withoutthese technologies and while theymay do things faster and more simplythey do so…

    Lou Faber

  • BUENOS AIRES ON THE GENESEE

    If this were Buenos Aires, if I were Borges, it would all make a great deal of sense. A man, older, and older still if you look closely, walks into an elegant hotel bar. A jazz quintet is playing, straight up, trumpet, piano, guitar, stand up bass, drum kit. The older man is wearing white…

    Lou Faber

  • DEAR SIR OR MADAM

    Dear politician:I received what seemedlike a stream of emails from youthis week and I would like youto stop sending them, but of courseyour unsubscribe link doesn’t work.I trust you got it from the same peoplethat fail to wire the Close Door buttonson nearly every elevator I have ridden.Please know you are wastingyour time seeking money…

    Lou Faber

  • WOLFGANG

    I suppose it will sound odd, butthere was a time when, in additionto the Rock and Folk music I loved,classical music was a key partof my life and helped make me whatI am today: a now retired attorney.And not just any classical music,although I loved many of the masters,Beethoven, Schubert, Bach, others,(sorry Mahler, Shostokovich butlines…

    Lou Faber

  • GENSHA COMES TO THE PROVINCE

    When you siton the cushiondo not let your mindcompare this zazento yesterday’s orimagine tomorrow’s.Those are the thoughtsof a fool for yesterdayand tomorrow are,in this moment,only illusions. A reflection on Case 81 of the Book of Equanimity, Shoyoroku 従容錄

    Lou Faber