Category: Life

  • The PICC Line

    Cancer’s life is a recapitulation of the body’s life, its existence a pathological mirror of our own. –Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer When it comes to cancer, I am no stranger. Diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoid cancer at age 21, I know the terror and disbelief that comes with hearing the words “you…

  • 40 Years of Bauhaus

    You must be an enigma. This is what creates attraction to beauty. You walk on and you do it, and this is what I have always felt. The moment I walk on stage, I live there. –Peter Murphy I promise that this blog will veer back to the realm of…

  • Reflections on a Past Life

    “Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” — Charles Dickens I sit here on a suspiciously warm February night, finally taking time to write down all of the reflection and introspection that I…

  • Where Does Paper Come From?

    “If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t turn out well for the Native Americans.” — Stephen Hawking Though I have had vivid dreams for my entire life, writing them down was not commonplace for me until recently. Occasionally, however, a…

  • Clockwatching

    “Time is jealous of you, and wars against your lilies and your roses.” –Oscar Wilde Though my dreams may seem completely random, there are some rules they tend to follow. For one, I am almost always alone in my dreams. Only those who are very important to me show up…

  • The Ballad of Gary Lee

    Every woman is a rebel, and usually in wild revolt against herself. -Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance Not long ago, I shared with you the rediscovery of some old family photographs, including the memento mori of my great-uncle, Gary Lee. In that box of photographs, news clippings, and letters,…

  • The Call of Wolves

    There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls. -George Carlin Wolves have featured heavily in my dreams since childhood, so I thought I’d share one of my favorite little wolf dreams with you all. Though short, it felt like years had passed between sleeping and…

  • Grandma Flo

    Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.   -Mark Twain Apparently my brain just did not have enough of Hurricane Florence. It has almost a week since the storm dropped historic amounts of rainfall across my state of North Carolina. All of that water must have gone to…

  • Memento Mori

    At sunset, the little soul that had come with the dawning went away, leaving heartbreak behind it.   -L. M. Montgomery The hurricane brought with it all of the expected hardships: wind, rain, flooding, downed trees, power outages. For me, it also brought a unique opportunity to look for old family…

  • Call Me Ishmael

    For there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men.   -Herman Melville Hurricane Florence is upon us! Abandon all hope, ye who enter North Carolina! Especially if you were planning to drive I-95. You’ll find the entire state is…