Category Archives: Lessons

Gullible Me

Posted on May 2, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was in fifth grade, we still had a form of show-and-tell. I think it was a once-weekly ritual, and as I recall it was about current events instead of toys and hobbies. We were expected to share … Continue reading →

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Black Hole

Posted on April 29, 2011 by sputterpub

   I’ve known a number of damaged people in my time. Mostly they were the victims of narcissistic or religious parents and many of them also suffered early loss of a sibling or other close relative with no opportunity to talk, … Continue reading →

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Good Friday, Riding Westward

Posted on April 22, 2011 by sputterpub

    John Donne is one of my favorite poets. Most years I read his divine poem on Good Friday, and I send love to the close friends I have who are believers. I started this sonnet in 1998 and just … Continue reading →

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Empty Barrel

Posted on April 21, 2011 by sputterpub

   When I was 10 or 12 or so, my father said to me, “Empty barrels make the most noise.” I got the meaning from the context – we’d just listened to an egotist engage in bombast (although I didn’t know … Continue reading →

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Gauss

Posted on April 18, 2011 by sputterpub

  I’m not sure how old I was when I heard the anecdote about Carl Friedrich Gauss, but he was in primary school when the event occurred, and I recall admiring his cleverness and feeling a little humbled, so I … Continue reading →

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Perspective

Posted on April 15, 2011 by sputterpub

   Today is traditional tax day. They’ve provided a little extension this year, as if tax returns were term papers, but April 15 is a time when it’s natural to contemplate our system. Usually I’m not negative. But sometimes I sink … Continue reading →

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Bad Idea

Posted on April 14, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was around 14, I was in like with a girl named Jill. I admired her name, her thick cooperative dark blonde hair, the faint freckles on her face, her athletic medium-sized body. I liked her woodsy home … Continue reading →

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Habits

Posted on April 11, 2011 by sputterpub

   My father was a proponent of moderation. He loathed extremism and he dreaded mindless habitual activity. He used to tell me that it was sensible to form good habits, like the custom of turning off lights as you leave a … Continue reading →

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Body Slang

Posted on April 7, 2011 by sputterpub

Do you look into a person’s eyes when he or she is speaking to you? I rarely do. My attention is drawn to the moving part: the mouth. Oh I’ll check out the cheeks and the chin and the lines … Continue reading →

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Antiprayer

Posted on April 1, 2011 by sputterpub

Allow me disadvantage so I’ll pay attention to my life. Bestow on me a dare, a tiny hassle toss my way; anoint my psyche with adversity. I need a little friction. I can’t sense a passage unabrasive or the slick … Continue reading →

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