One of the world’s most mysterious archaeological sites lies approximately eight thousand feet above sea level in the Peruvian Andes Mountains and a good fifty, nearly inaccessible, miles from the nearest city of any size.  More questions than answers abound regarding the legendary L… Read full post »

she came to me again last night

like a lover under cover of darkness,

a succubus threatening to consume my

essence, body and soul.

she nibbles at my toe,

at first playfully, the teasing of

a skillful courtesan practiced

in the arts of seduction,… Read full post »

It’s September—it has to be:

the calendar on the wall, the one you like

with pastoral photos of the Irish

countryside on every page,

says so.

But walk outside to the low growl of

air-conditioning units and see

children running in shorts… Read full post »

desire dawning, softly demanding

arm draped around your waist, caressing

cotton dress descending floorward

fingers stroking swelling curves

silken sheets cool on flesh

mouths open, hungry

tongues dance wetly

bodies join

passion

love

  Read full post »

It was a glorious afternoon for a round of golf last Friday.  The temperature was in the low eighties, a light breeze wafted through the pine trees of the Raleigh Country Club, and the handful of clouds seemed painted against the Carolina blue skies.  For Ray Cook, life was good.… Read full post »

Watching Leonard Cohen’s Concert from Earls Court, London on PBS

Suzanne takes you down

to a place by the river

touch her with your mind

He stands on the stage, band off to the side, leaving him by himself.  He is rumpled.  He/… Read full post »

Tucked away in the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County, California, is the small town of Solvang.  Its scenic setting amidst gently rolling hills and pastures, and its proximity to some of the best vineyards in the state (it was the location for much of the film Sideways) are only… Read full post »

Curtis Brown literary agent Nathan Bransford maintains a very helpful and informative blog for avid readers, neophyte writers, and just plain folks who are interested in the world of book publishing.  Nathan is very entertaining, and his blog is a must-read; you never know what you&rsq… Read full post »

In a conversation the other day, I was reminded of my first date as a student in high school.

I went to La Salle Military Academy in Oakdale, Long Island, New York, an all-male boarding high school where contact with the opposite sex was rare.  We had two annual dances… Read full post »

I’m blessed to have as a friend a talented poet and classical musician and teacher by the name of Alfred.  He’s an expat American living in a Paris suburb, and he writes fairly prolifically on another website (follow the link at left marked “Scattered leaves with poetic imprint… Read full post »

 

November 1967

The venerable Ford F-100 pickup jostled down the rutted country road on its way to the paved two-lane leading towards Tacoma and the Trailways bus depot.  Mary Ann’s feet worked the clutch and accelerator pedals, her right hand rest/… Read full post »

Why does it take the passing of a friend or a loved one to force us to stop the madness of our everyday lives for a moment and consider the larger picture?  Who we are, where we’re going, what’s important and what’s not…

I guess the more pertinent question is,… Read full post »

For Lance, while watching the interment of Edward Kennedy 

Long black hearse rolling stately

down broad capital boulevard,

escort’s blue lights flashing mournfully,

flag twitching sadly at mid-staff,

eternal flame flickering, the only light

save for rifles’ percussive flashes… Read full post »

THIS SHOP

TEMPORARILY

CLOSED

IN MEMORY

OF A GOOD MAN

AND A FRIEND

---------------------

REST IN PEACE, LANCE

  Read full post »

first day of school in wake county north carolina

o'er the land they swarm today, yellow shells

shuttling, scuttling, carrying young bodies and minds

from familiar home and family bosom’s  safety

to freshly-scrubbed, overcrowded, underfunded

halls of learning, children yearning for kn… Read full post »

As a baptized Catholic, I'm prone to at least two things:  1) guilt, and b) confession.  And so, I need to make a confession right at the outset:  I am not a foodie.  I am probably the Antifoodie.  I tell my friends that I have the food tastes of an eight… Read full post »

Many of my old friends know that I have been living with severe kidney disease, also known as End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), for over seven years now.  I have been undergoing dialysis since March of 2005, and have been on the national kidney transplant list since 2004.

It's a physical… Read full post »

A confession at the outset:  I am a serial blogger.

Since early 2007, I have maintained several blogs, or journals, as I prefer to call them.  Until earlier this year I had a journal on Writing.com that was heavily slanted towards the hard realities of life:  politics, history, and tha… Read full post »