Posted by Edith Cook on Saturday, January 28, 2012,
In :
Personal
Sometimes it's necessary to step away from the hubbub created by our social connections. Much as I love family and friends, their sorrows and sadness--and, yes, contentiousness--can get to me. Then I feel as if anything I might try to make things better is not going to amount to anything, for someone else will unravel whatever I'm trying to do.
When this happens, I pick up my guitar and return to the pieces of music I cherish. The above sample was given to me by friends on a visit to Germany.... Continue reading ...
Posted by Edith Cook on Sunday, January 22, 2012,
In :
Writing
When I visit the editor who prints my essays in his paper, I always learn something new. Since I live in the town of his business, you'd think I would drop in on him often, but I don't. He is not terribly communicative; every time I've asked him for something in a email, he has ignored it. Hence I'm a bit leery of him--although I have learned, when I do drop in on him, he is unfailingly courteous and often encouraging with his tips and suggestions. So it was this time as well.
Posted by Edith Cook on Thursday, January 12, 2012,
In :
Personal
What will life be like when Baby Grace is a young woman? Since returning home I've struggled with an assignment I've given myself: to answer a friend's query why I'm preoccupied with global warming. What should I say in my column? That Richard Leakey, the eminent pathologist, speaks of a "sixth Extinction" which, unlike to preceding five, is human-caused and quite likely will wipe out all of us along with the species we drive into oblivion? That Laurence Smith's world of 2050 is wracked with... Continue reading ...
Posted by Edith Cook on Monday, January 2, 2012,
In :
Personal
I usually gain weight when I spend a holiday with family--and it's not just because. during the holidays, everyone eats too much and drinks too much. I turn to chocolate as my "comfort food," and so, I'm glad to return to my own routine of "normal" life with its exercise groups and swimming. Of course, the fact that I need to comfort myself with chocolate when visiting family is in itself revealing.
The other day my daughter-in-law turned on the music channel in her TV to a very loud degree. ... Continue reading ...
Though I now live in Wyoming, I make frequent return trips to California with visits to travel club members along the way. At home I play classical guitar, enjoy gardening and cooking, and participate in group yoga. Getting together with family and friends is high on my agenda. I value people who write or make music and love it when my adult children and their offspring play their instruments, sing songs with me, or discuss what they read and write. Such gatherings help me cope with the losses in my life, which have been severe. Next year I hope to visit family in Germany.