Monthly Archives: July 2018

As for the heron, it . . .went about searching for food in its slow, magisterial way. – Blue Heron/Avi                                                      Chapter Fifteen   Thanksgiving morning, I awoke to the smell of bacon frying and strong coffee brewing. Then … Continue reading →

How will I send my thoughts flying without no great birds to use for a guide? — Paul Boeth/ The Great Blue Heron by Robert W. Butler                                       Chapter Fourteen   I survived Conferences, but Mrs. Stankoski had me … Continue reading →

        PICTURE PERFECT   As I entered the room, something was amiss. At first, I could not imagine what it was. Then I saw the two nails, still hammered in the wall, neatly spaced, and the faint … Continue reading →

The heron suddenly stretched its neck straight up and, beak pointing skyward, kept it there as if listening. “Frahnk!” it suddenly cried, deep and harsh. “Frahnk!” – Blue Heron by Avi                                                   Chapter Thirteen   By the time … Continue reading →

When foraging in streams, they [great blue herons] usually stand or walk against the current . . . enabling the bird to approach from the rear. – Birds of Lake, Pond, and Marsh/John Eastman                                                         Chapter Twelve   … Continue reading →

PILGRIMS PROGRESS   Obviously, when one is asked his or her perspective on progress, the U.S. government immediately comes to mind. I am not about to fall into that trap! There are tons of pundits who cover that topic far … Continue reading →

 Every time one member of the couple [of great blue herons] arrives at the nest, he or she greets the partner by raising the neck and head feathers and emitting a special sequence of guttural cries. — The Great Book … Continue reading →

Josh had to come to terms with his “gift”.  He knew it was not him, that he was just a conduit, but he also knew that this gift was now the purpose of his life, that he didn’t have to … Continue reading →

The old General Electric Theater program on CBS television , in the 1960s was promoted by their spokesman Ronald Reagan. The mantra was: Progress is our most important product. For 100 plus years the company was a major American corporation … Continue reading →

I’m impressive, I grant you that. The significance of my presence is marked with a bit of fanfare. The room quiets in anticipation. In reverence, eyes turn in my direction. The ceremony begins with the question, “Who’s first?” With a … Continue reading →

I don’t get it! People are always calling me a pane. Just what have I done to deserve such disrespect? I let in the light, block the wind and cold, and can help enhance a room’s beauty. I can even … Continue reading →

I’m at 30,000 feet heading out over the Atlantic. A wine glass in hand. What the hell is going he , she, (it), speaks to me. I’ve been wet inside to the brim 3 times already. The spectacular blonde, sweet … Continue reading →

NIKE NIGHTMARE   Some doofus came into the shoe store in which I comfortably reside on a shelf. Up there, no one bothers me. I am quite content to lie in my box, covered with nice, crisp tissue and no … Continue reading →

  Our ancestors revered herons and notice how high up they fly, ‘where they behold forever, the countenance of God,’ wrote Rabanus Maurus                                         — 100 Birds and How They Names by Diana Wells                                                                           Chapter Nine   … Continue reading →

To his credit, he was still astounded at the event that had just unfolded and did not yet fully understand his role in the events that had played out so dramatically over the recent past. Christmas was rapidly approaching and … Continue reading →

Josh was in a quandary, he had no one he felt he could confide in about his thoughts of these last events that had thrown him for a loop!  The dog coming alive in his hands, then Mr Thornton jerking … Continue reading →

                        “Often solitary . . .lone birds may be seen flapping slowly overhead, even miles from water. ”   —Birds of North America/Kaufman Focus Guides/Kenn Kaufman                                           Chapter Eight   It’s Sat. morning. Mama’s working. So I give … Continue reading →

Josh put the gold card in his wallet figuring that someone he knew would eventually ask him about it and reveal themselves as the purveyor of the joke.  A couple weeks went by and he forgot about the card until … Continue reading →

What a difference a day makes. This morning I awoke to the lake as grey as the sky. The far shore blended into the horizon. Fog enveloped my world, closing me off from my closest neighbors. Yesterday, in the still … Continue reading →

Great blues spend much time preening and grooming, typically when perched on a tree branch or atop a muskrat lodge after feeding.                                                           –Birds of Lake, Pond, and Marsh/John Eastman           Chapter Seven        Thanks to Gabrielle, I … Continue reading →

As autumn approaches, herons begin to leave the eelgrass meadows . . . – The Great Blue Heron/ Robert Butler                                                Chapter Six            On library day, I returned my book The Blue Heron by Avi. … Continue reading →

Some places just put my internal alarm systems on active standby. Alma Latinas was just such a place. Sure, I’d visited this cantina before with several friends, but never alone. Actually, Gringos never visit this part of Nuevo Laredo alone, … Continue reading →

Don’t be a flight attendant kind of teacher, I cautioned teacher candidates when we discussed effective teaching practices. I haven’t anything against flight attendants; they brought me peanuts and once a blanket. They chuckled remembering the precise and prescribed gestures … Continue reading →

As autumn approaches, herons begin to leave the eelgrass meadows . . . – The Great Blue Heron/ Robert Butler                                                Chapter Six  On library day, I returned my book The Blue Heron by Avi. I loved it! … Continue reading →

Chapter Five     Turns out Gabrielle’s mother & grandmother come in the Blue Heron Restaurant all the time for lunch and are now chummy with Mama. Best of all, Gabrielle and I were starting to be friends in Mrs.Stankoski’s … Continue reading →

Today we tend to watch calorie and fat intake in our diet. This can be daunting when we are faced with 100,000 square feet of a 120,000 square foot supermarket devoted to sugar, fat and artificial ingredients unpronounceable to all … Continue reading →

Innovation in fine dining is reaching its climax in the emergence of the newest Michelin star chef- Poul Ziska (New Yorker, “Meal Ticket”, June 18th, 2018) who has opened a restaurant in a small cabin literally in the middle of … Continue reading →