Category Archives: Lessons

Reveille

Posted on July 22, 2011 by sputterpub

I started this sonnet in 1998, saw it published in the online zine Cyclamens & Swords last August, and have just dallied with edits and played with line breaks, for here. I don’t know what breed of bird it was, … Continue reading →

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The Truth about the Tortoise and the Hare

Posted on July 21, 2011 by sputterpub

It’s a great fable and it made a cute cartoon. But is it honest? We all get it: that to win the race one should stay focused and avoid cockiness. But under what circumstances, really, would the tortoise win? Clearly this … Continue reading →

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Desserts

Posted on July 11, 2011 by sputterpub

     I had an amazing dessert recently, which reminded me of two other memorable sweet courses. I was struck by the quality they all shared – absence of chocolate – and that got me wondering. I adore chocolate. Seldom does … Continue reading →

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The Job

Posted on July 8, 2011 by sputterpub

  “I’m not a-skeered o’ you,” I declare to my offspring, even though she’s now almost 418 months old and he’s nearly 349. Talk about whistling in the dark – they terrify me. My children are passionate, capable of expressing … Continue reading →

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Urban Trails

Posted on July 7, 2011 by sputterpub

I fell on the sidewalk two months ago. I was walking to BART on a warm day, and I tripped on some uneven pavement. I went down hard. I smashed my knee and tore some muscle or worse near my … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Lessons | 2 Comments

Retirement Savings

Posted on July 5, 2011 by sputterpub

     Don’t shoot me if I sound insensitive. I know many of us are living off savings or otherwise struggling to get by. But my job is about retirement plans for small businesses, so I interact regularly with people who … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons, Money Stuff, Poetry | 2 Comments

Symbiosis

Posted on July 1, 2011 by sputterpub

  Sometimes I compose a science sonnet. In my opinion the form is not limited to love poems or landscape descriptions. I like the rules of containment that sonnets carry: how the limits make me drill into the subject and enter … Continue reading →

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Oatmeal

Posted on June 30, 2011 by sputterpub

  Maybe it really does stick to my ribs. They say oatmeal fills you up and keeps you going all morning. I’ve never been a breakfast eater – I simply don’t feel hunger till I’ve been up for a few … Continue reading →

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Neat Freaks and Hoarders

Posted on June 27, 2011 by sputterpub

  I mean: minimalist or collector? It seems to me that one of the ways we can classify folks is into two categories based on how many possessions they aim to acquire. I’m not into having stuff. Never have been. When … Continue reading →

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My Father’s Speeding Ticket

Posted on June 23, 2011 by sputterpub

   I love it when this blog provokes a reader to recall and tell a memory. That happened recently from my mother; she came by on a Saturday and we strolled from my place to lunch on College Avenue, and … Continue reading →

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