"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of
strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something
infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature— the assurance
that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter."

 Dan… Read full post »

Elton John's "The King Must Die" lyrics starts with a briefing of what happens when a king is overthrown, possibly by ignoring his Jester and buffons advice:

"No man's a jester playing Shakespeare
Round your throne room floor
While the juggler's act is danced upon
The crown that you

… Read full post »

When I moved to my first apartment in Denver, Colorado, my grandfather, Charlie Cavanagh, who was born the youngest of thirteen children on the Carrizo Plains in Central California, and knew something about cheap eats, sent me his Pinto Bean recipe in the first letter I received from home. He thought… Read full post »

I wrote the original version of this about 15 years ago and have re-edited it a bit.  (I've had a few more insights into relationships & forgiveness in the intervening years). I have practiced forgiveness long enough that I have forgiven all the people who hurt me as a child, and… Read full post »

This is us the first night in Italy. We had a good nap after a long train ride to Camuchia, at the foot of the hill where Cortona presides over a magnificent view of Tuscany. Here is a view to the North side of town. This is a… Read full post »

I was so very tired when I arrived in Italy. We had only about 3 hours of sleep when our mini cab came to take us on a 45 minute drive to the airport at Stansted, where we were required to arrive two hours prior to our 3 hour flight's departure.… Read full post »

"Tonight I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment," said Brown. "This woman is from Alaska for crying out loud. She is strong. She is tough. She is confident. And you claim she is ready… Read full post »

After McCain cancelled his appearance on David Letterman last night, Dave got hot!  It was just a laugh riot:

"In the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric. Dave even cut over to the live video of… Read full post »

BABY BUDDIES

 

This is Firecat scratching the post that Dan made for him and his pal Teaser, shown above on the deck.

 

 

 

SWEET AS THEY MAY APPEAR, IT IS… Read full post »

On Sept. 15, 1963, four black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at 16th Street Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, in one of the cruelest crimes during the civil rights e… Read full post »