These come along usually just at the point where I’ve hugged then tucked the (now) six-year-old in and said goodnight. He considers things and there is always another to tell me before I go. Continue reading “Bedtime Considerings: Box, Mole, Pi” ... continue reading

A triangle of trees were lassoed with tough ropes. Each trunk, encircled with a padded harness, held itself stoically to the ground. Two men bounced, wobbled, and periodically traversed the rope between trees with grace. One floppy, determined child tried. Outside the triangle of tightropes, a woman practiced spinning a large hoop in a series of tricks. Sometimes she jumped through it, which caused her to drop it. ... continue reading

I jaywalked diagonally from one sidewalk to the other. At 7:30 in the morning traffic is light. But I hadn’t noticed others on the sidewalk. Except for a well-bundled family, which walked up the hill I was going down. A tall husband, wife, and their two children. The man made eye contact with me and said “Monsieur, monsieur.” I stopped and looked at him, realizing he’d ask me for directions. ... continue reading

Starting this project, I had no idea where it would go. Yet on days like today, I joke that I’m almost there. No doubt I’ll make it, once almost there won’t be. Happy birthday, me. ... continue reading

Two fellows argued near a phone. One of them, greying hair, a turpentine diluted blue cardigan, gestured with both hands. The other rolled his eyes up and tilted his head sideways. He made fleeting eye contact and though not the elder, he was the taller. They spoke urgently, probably not clearly but I was too far away to hear. Their urgencies pushed through different happenstances. The taller one that often looked ... continue reading

When he was a boy, he’d accompany one parent or another to banks, convenience stores, hardware stores, places queueing people to exchange money for whatever it was worth. He’d stand by the counter waiting to be noticed. Sensible, he waited in line, not interrupting, rocking from heel to toe to heel. Sometimes grownups pushed ahead and he continued to wait. Clerks didn’t know he was waiting, a part ... continue reading

One morning, driving along the river, outside my neighbourhood, I witnessed the rapid welcome of a brilliant, melancholy, antique cloud. It descended at an angle from the unlimited above, with its measure of a western direction. I wanted to stop. At 7:00 in the morning with no temperature, few people appear on the street. A homeless man, waiting for warm coffee forgot about warmth and stood to face the cloud. Peopl ... continue reading

A surprising inclusion happened during a brief moment on a small corner of sidewalk. As Heather and I walked toward the cross-street, a couple walked toward us. A woman stood on the sidewalk, facing her shop’s window. Its overflowing wooden rectangle of flowers drooped a degree toward the street. She kept a hose running lightly at their bases. She focused. Tied to a signpost at her back, a cream furred dog sa ... continue reading

And how fitting you are, urchin, for the first of the found. It’s been a rough day? All spiked and broken green quills drooping like some tired eyelids. The day started lulling like any other, I’ll bet. A back and forth like home-sweet-home, just the way rhythms work with littler things getting eaten by the bigger things, only to find themselves washed up. Your appetite was no less a part of this. Crawl ... continue reading