All posts filed under: Non-Fiction

for Matt

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I am hard of believing, I am belief-challenged, in this century of greater discoveries. There is no god in my mind to take him to a better place, especially the so-called better place where there is no suffering imposed on a select few. No consolation, no parable will fit these circumstances because at 26, he lived fewer years than Jesus himself! No. This will not do. Unless I make Matt my own version of a savior. OK Matt, are you ready for this? I am talking to you. You certainly win the competition every time I notice that something in my 61 year-old body isn’t working as well as it used to. Actually, you did point that out to me, not so long ago. And so I learned from you and I will think of you whenever I am about to complain, whenever a needle approaches my hypersensitive self. And instead of telling me what a sissy I was, or getting angry at me, you simply said, “you should try F.A.” Silence. Pause. “You should …

The Sorry Pedestrian

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I am sorry to have slowed you down Did you have a good time wherever you were rushing to? Did you get compassionate ears to listen to your improvised Excuse, the lack of parking at the door, the traffic, a school bus? I am sorry to have interrupted Or to have challenged your multi-tasking abilities, Yes, conversation, even hands-free, occupies your mind, And sorry pedestrians should know to wait quietly Because it is obvious they are going nowhere. I am sorry I was in your way I understand collateral damage Means I will be the necessary loss In the war you feel is necessary For how would you get where you need to go Without a car, and yes, I will be realistic And stand by to watch your parade. I am sorry you were enlisted as a road warrior And the economy commanded that you drive More, and pedestrian life as its name implies Is so commonplace and unimaginative Unlike your choice of a shiny armor Shielding you from street life. I am sorry …

Why Should I Want to See this Sky Again

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On the way down from Tilden at sunset, I took photos of the glorious sky, but down on Spruce Avenue, a woman asked me why…  And I should explain that living in Berkeley you must get used to being asked, and expect a suggestion in any kind of direction the person wants you to adopt.  The woman asked me why I took photos when it was obvious that nobody took photos any more.  Her children had been camping and had taken videos with their cell phones, and she held hers to show me, perhaps how smaller and lighter they were than my heavy SLR from which a selfie must be a difficult thing to obtain.  As for me, I tried to explain in a few words why I took photos of the sky, in order to contemplate them later.  That’s why they are still photos, to serve as the starting point of a simple thought, perhaps delayed from this moment, when there were no words to describe what you saw and why you wanted to …

Glendalough

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My flight to Dublin is an hour late, and I wonder if I’ll be able to catch the 11:30 Glendalough bus. It’s called the St. Kevin’s bus service, picks up passengers at “Top of Dawson Street opposite Mansion House” which, after looking at the Google Map, is near a stop of the 747 Dublin Airport bus (College Greens). There’s also a 700 bus, which would drop me on Kildare Street. Fortunately, only carrying a backpack that I could take with me on the plane, I swiftly go through Irish Immigration and Customs, find an ATM (advice: request an amount that isn’t a multiple of 50, to get some convenient 10 Euro notes), find the bus and its imminent departure displayed, and up I go on the double-decker bus to Dublin. On the road I see the 700 bus passing us and leading the way to town. In a hurry, it would have been better, and the 747 bus detours on crowded small streets before crossing the Liffey. But I make it to my stop, College …

Names of Taxi Cabs in Berkeley

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for a few years now, I have gathered the names of taxi cabs passing under my window… AOL Cab Greyline Cab Yellow Friendly A1 Red Sea Taxi Adventurous Cab Luxor Cab United Cab Friendly Cab Yellow Star Express Marwan Cab Commuter Cab Co. Yankee Express Cab Desoto Cab Day and Night Cab Airport Unlimited Safari Cab Quick Cab Sunny Cab DD Cab Co. A1 California Cab Co. ProjectCab Taxi Metro Checker Welcome Transportation Adventure Cab Eco Friendly Cab God Bless Cab

Healing from the Right Side of the Brain

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I just came back from a day-long seminar with Dr. Roy Martina title, “Reclaim Your Power and Restore Your Health” organized by Ode Magazine. You may want to see it, they make the video available online for a fee at odenow.com.  Did I ever mention I loved Ode Magazine? It was… fun, and a bit mysterious. Aware of tricks that can be played on you (typically, a con man can talk to your right side of the brain and get anything from you), I realized from Roy Martina’s experiences that one could basically con himself to eliminate all the barriers he accumulates when he’s little. In my case, I’m aware that my parents and grandparents installed many fears in me before I could just dismiss them as what old people keep saying. It can go very deep. So the recipes may include methods you wouldn’t want to get close to (like cutting karmic links with the UV sword of the angel Michael?), but in fact what you’re doing is ask your left brain to move …

On Staging a Fight Without Making a Man of Myself

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This was written in response to Linda Leith’s Article “Bias against Women Writers? Heresy from a Fledging Publisher” I write today to throw in my 2 cents – indeed for what it’s worth – about how, or why men seem to dominate in the publishing world. It’s a dangerous area, I think, because I am definitely not an authority on the subject, only an observer. Perhaps I write about it today, because recently I opened old files of stories I had abandoned, finding the critique it had received from another writer. As constructive as he had tried to be, he had used words that spoke to me of my failure to produce a perfect piece. This time, years later, the words no longer had that effect. They were about the story, and I no longer were attached to the long hours I had spent on it. I happily started rewriting the story yesterday. What does that mean in relation to the gender domination issue? I want to avoid the stereotypes that people of my generation …

on lindaleith.com: Books, in Guatemala?

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Read the full article on lindaleith.com I’m really glad that I don’t have to drive in Guatemala.  Our driver takes us on a road where a bridge collapsed during tropical storm Agatha, two or three years ago, but no one has bothered to rebuild it. On the other side of the river, a truck starts towards the river, showing the water depth to be about one foot. Julio, our expert driver, obviously knows he’ll go through. As I travel in this and other underdeveloped countries, I’ve found that people don’t seem to worry about things like a river crossing. They know a bridge or other infrastructure will not be built any time soon.  They’ll deal with problems when they occur. The same happens with their educational system. The central government may build schools, but it doesn’t seem to supply the books. A child may show up at school one day, but not the next, if the family’s priorities have changed one way or another. New teachers find themselves assigned to classes they can hardly manage, …