Author Archives: sputterpub

Musing on Mesopotamia (Beginning)

Posted on September 10, 2012 by sputterpub

They remembered the winter of 2002 as the season of Polartec. It started with the 4×6 throws (in varying colors) available from Lands’End for $39 each, and ended with robes of the same material and hues. In between there were … Continue reading →

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Vocation

Posted on September 7, 2012 by sputterpub

Perhaps my spouse is life itself; I guess I love each day. When death’s around my head I think the name I’ll call, the noun I’ll bless, the partner I’ll desert when I am dead, is being. Sweet existence is … Continue reading →

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Spring Valley

Posted on September 6, 2012 by sputterpub

My mother never wore fake jewels or glass, and didn’t pierce her lobes for 50 years, but I remember carousels of brass that danced and jingled dangling from her ears. She walked behind me up the concrete stairs that brought … Continue reading →

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Origin Story

Posted on September 5, 2012 by sputterpub

I read a news article recently about the testimony of an 80 year old man, about an event he remembers from half a century ago. PG&E wants to use the testimony in its defense, but the man’s recollection includes details … Continue reading →

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Commutation

Posted on September 4, 2012 by sputterpub

Observing this confused society, that age by age through eons has evolved into a fabric of complexity, I wonder if our politics dissolved the bright connections out of which we wove the counterpane. That’s feral comedy, or comic irony. Conventions … Continue reading →

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Back to School

Posted on August 31, 2012 by sputterpub

How sweet the sight of newsprint widest ruled, with alternating lines an inch apart. On such a surface we were early schooled to print our letters. Now as then we start the kids with solid guidelines high and low, a … Continue reading →

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Coneheads (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on August 30, 2012 by sputterpub

Semites are Semites, and their brains remained binary. There wasn’t any possibility of interbreeding with Sumerians, and if there’s ever been a binary-to-trinary natural mutation, it must not have survived to be reported; none of us have heard of it. … Continue reading →

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Coneheads (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on August 29, 2012 by sputterpub

From the textbooks: two points suggest a line; three establish a plane. The triangle, elegant and easy, is the most stable, supportive form. The first shape. The image of a person, upright. A natural mountain. Tepee. Two is productive but … Continue reading →

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Pepper Tree

Posted on August 28, 2012 by sputterpub

A pepper tree ahead of me appears a graceful drape above an antique truck, reminding me of Chula Vistan years when our suburban hormones ran amok, when we were husbanded like citrus trees in Cinderella homes on furrowed blocks, our … Continue reading →

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Skunk Skool

Posted on August 27, 2012 by sputterpub

I think I’ve mentioned the skunks before. One or more seem to inhabit my yard full-time, although I only see, hear, and smell signs of skunks now and then. We try not to bother one another. I don’t mind the … Continue reading →

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