I love the pursuit of ‘junk.’ Nothing excites me more than digging through a second hand store, hunting for treasures no one else has noticed. I love auctions, junk stores, vintage shops, high end or low end, and sometimes the low end ones can be more fun, and the victory even greater when you find a wonderful object at a great price. I have always loved mixing ‘important’ (ie. valuable) objects with things that cost nearly nothing. Among my treasures, I have a few beautiful old China porcelains of fruit, which I mixed in with the ceramics my kids made in grade school, and no one suspects which is which. The pieces made by my kids are much more valuable to me! » read more »
Archive for December, 2008
Forms of Communication
Posted on December 11, 2008
I’ve been thinking recently about forms of communication that we’ve come to take for granted. Things are so ‘easy’ now with cell phones, text messages, email. Whatever we have on our minds, we can shoot off to someone, whether they are available, interested or not. Whenever I have something on my mind, I can send an email or text to my office or my kids, and then it’s their problem not mine. The problem is, there is no human being on the other end of that line. We don’t hear a voice, don’t have a conversation, don’t have to listen to what they think about it. It’s a strictly one way street, independent of time differences or convenient times. And similarly, they can answer me whether I’m awake, at home, or available, or not. » read more »
Filed Under Communication | 4 Comments
Adjust
Posted on December 9, 2008
I recently spoke to a friend who was thinking of retiring, in his 80’s, still very much in his prime and very active, and he was visibly depressed about it. Suddenly he felt as though a big chunk of his identity (maybe even all of it) was about to vanish and fall away. Who was he going to be now? I’m not sure he has answered the question yet. Whoever he has been for the past 60 years, in his own eyes certainly, is about to change. He is about to become a man without a career or a job. That’s a dramatic loss for most men. » read more »
Filed Under Retiring | 3 Comments
Family Feuds
Posted on December 4, 2008
As the holidays approach, starting with Thanksgiving (I just don’t consider Ground Hog Day the start of the holiday season), a million tender memories come to mind: making brownies with my children, decorating the trees, their eyes full of wonder as we went downtown to look at the store windows all decorated for Christmas. Christmas is truly my favorite time of year, and always has been. But I know that for many, it brings up other memories too, of family dissent, challenges, and disappointments. No one gets off scott free in life, the bittersweet for my family at holidays now is the absence of my late son Nick. We will always miss him and his crazy antics over the holidays, and at other times. So we all have our tough moments amid the joy. » read more »
Filed Under Family, Holidays | 23 Comments