Category Archives: Lessons

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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Dirty Books

Posted on June 20, 2011 by sputterpub

     The first suggestive book I ever held was my father’s copy of Candide. I have the volume here, with its “Ex Libris” bookplate and its penciled $1.50 used-book price. It was published by Hartsdale House in New York, in … Continue reading →

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Decompression

Posted on June 10, 2011 by sputterpub

   I did some desert camping in the 1990s, and I was surprised at how much I liked it. Always before I’d headed for the mountains or the seashore, but in my 40s I began to appreciate the silence, solitude, and … Continue reading →

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Opossum

Posted on June 7, 2011 by sputterpub

   We have lots of critters in Berkeley. I became acquainted with more than I wanted in the 17 years of creekside dwelling, but that was probably good, since they are plentiful around me now. I live in a backyard cottage, … Continue reading →

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Because

Posted on June 6, 2011 by sputterpub

     I don’t know what it is about people, but we sure like to find a cause for every effect. It starts when we’re very young – all kids love stories and it seems that what they love most is … Continue reading →

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