I attended what was by modern, national standards a small, rural high school near a small town in the US Deep South. Small meant intimate. Personal. We did not think of our school, our community, our world, as small. We did not realize we would live to be so much older than were our teachers …
Category: Connections
interesting times – an update
At our 2017 high-school reunion, one of my dearest classmates hugged me and, without hint of irony, whispered, “You’ve had an interesting life, Gary.” Ah, the power of hugs! But did you notice her use of past tense? Such a small thing, but yeah, I noticed, because our stories are hardly over. Life was then, …
eclipse glasses vs knives
He had a knife. True, he was laughably unsteady and incoherent in his demands — almost as wobbly as I was in that moment. But he had a knife. I shared the story with a local friend the next day, and she explained that such encounters were known, at least among Los Angelenos, as friendly …
like normal people
So declared the marquee of a Houston patio bar. I heard lots of lawyer jokes when I worked as an attorney. Most weren’t great, but I was delighted that others enjoyed sharing them with me. My favorite? “How many lawyer jokes are there, anyway? Only three. The rest are true stories.” Despite my years of …
schoolmates
He gave her a ride to and from high school each day in his convertible Beetle. When weather permitted, they'd put the top down and enjoy detours to delay their inevitable arrival as long as possible. They didn't know then how precious — how rare — was their friendship. After graduation, he joined the army …
silly scientist
Long ago, a friend asked that I arrange “a romantic night under the stars” for her Las Vegas-based supervisor and his betrothed. When I reported the plans I was making for a dark desert site, including a large telescope operated by an experienced astronomer, my friend asked, “What about a bonfire and champagne?” I explained …
who are we?
After I finally finished school for the first time, most new encounters eventually got around to: “What do you do?” Come to think of it, when I went back to school 20 years ago, I was old enough that people still asked that, so I guess it has more to do with being “working age” …
out and away
I was just 1500 miles into the initial 48-state portion of this continuing journey, when I stopped for a meal at a patio bistro on Missouri’s Katy Trial. The Big’s distinctive profile gets noticed, even where other bicycles abound, and a young lady at the next table asked about the bike. I explained the mobile-observatory …
cat people
I was never a cat person. I still have a scar on my left index finger, the gift of the irate Siamese who bit me when I was four. And I was allergic to cats when young. I was allergic to many irritants, actually, but cats were among the worst. My eyes would itch, then …
photographs and journal notes and other stuff of memories
I hiked desert mountains of the U.S. Southwest with a retired Boston firefighter, whom I met while pedaling a remote Nevada road. The incongruity of his lush New England accent amid those vast arid settings was reminder that we are all travelers, each on our own peculiar journey through time. Among the surprises of that …
Continue reading photographs and journal notes and other stuff of memories
The Pedaling Astronomer Project 