Category: Everyday Events
-
Sick In London: The Excursionist II
[The Sherlock Holmes Pub. The only real outing we’ve had.] When your forty feet from the ‘largest bookstore’ in Europe, it’s hard to get bored. But alas, the usual ‘bug’ has hit us. We took the Red Eye from JFK to London on Sunday afternoon. Thinking we were going to get some stuff done…we both…
-
The Ring
My left hand is ringless. The wedding band lies on a tray on the dresser in our bedroom, along with assorted jewelry. Is this the sign of a marriage gone south? Hardly. The only thing that would be going south right now is my wife and I. Because outside the wind howls and the temperature…
-
Like Living in a Holiday Greeting Card
[Photo is mine.] Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. –Lyrics by Sammy Cahn I’ve never lived inside a greeting card before. You’d have to be really really thin, like Wiley C. Cayote after being flattened by a road paver. Never fear. My readers know that and that the title of this post…
-
Another Time Around
[Our front deck table.] It all happened so fast. One minute, the flies fill the skies, the frogs croak down by the lake, the fan is kept on all night (a rare thing here in the North Country) and I spend my outdoor time swatting mosquitoes. Tonight, we’re told of a frost warning. The fan…
-
Adorable Aquatic Mammals Of Rainbow Lake
[Castor canadensis. Source: Wikipedia] beaver n. A large aquatic rodent having thick brown fur, webbed hind feet, a broad flat tail and sharp incisors used for felling trees and building dams. –The American Heritage Dictionary (5th ed.) When late summer arrives here in the North Country and the leaves begin to turn red, gold and…
-
An August Omen
Omen n. Something believed to be a sign of good or evil. –The American Heritage Dictionary Can you see it? Between the two large trees…behind the birch. I can see it. I first noticed it a few days ago but held-off saying anything about it. It’s not a cardinal or an oriole. It’s a leaf.…
-
It Just Isn’t That Simple
I am waging a war here in the North Country. I am waging a war against spiders. I am the General and I am losing. Look, we bought the house in 2000, but the spiders think they are the real owners. That’s eighteen years of warfare. The two World Wars didn’t last that long. Okay,…
-
Of Time and Distance: A Departing
[Corfe Castle] Yesterday, in the late afternoon, I sat on unmowed grass leaning against a stone wall. I was on the grounds of Corfe Castle in south Dorset. The mason who built my backrest had fitted the stones into their places over 1,000 years ago. There was still a strong sun in the west and…
-
I Caught The Eye Of The Groom In The Brussels City Hall.
[Only a part of the Grand Place.] Unaware Americans. Yes, that’s who we were when we arrived in Brussels. Yes, that’s how I felt when we arrived here. Mapless. I need to know the urban geography of any place I am in. But, I had no idea about this city. Changing the B&B we left…
-
The “Popcorn” Man
[The Street Vender. Photo is mine.] At first I thought he was selling a popcorn necklace. He would walk up and down the rows of diners, whose tables (here in Paris) always face the streets. And he would peddle his “popcorn” necklaces to those at the tables that were closest to the sidewalk. Yes, I…
patrickjegan 