I was speaking to a friend about life things and he said that in reality the one thing we need is love. He said he often thinks of the Beatles’ song, All You Need is Love, and he believes it is the singular truth in his life. Love of his mother, father, partner, friends, and even his relationships to his clients are all wrought from this one requirement. Love. I’m working my way through the…
Progress Sundays we’d stroll to the railroad track, My white-collared father and I, Where he’d gaze after freight trains billowing past And deliver himself of a sigh— “If I still worked for the railroad, I’d retire with a pass. I could ride To any place in the country, And the country, they say, is wide.” Yet for thirty years my father With fountain pen wielded power At the boiler factory in Dover, Keeping track of…
I realized early this year that I can’t have it all – I can’t be the mother I want to be to my 3 year old, run my own business, and stay in shape. It just wasn’t in my cards. And so I assessed – Tin is 3 now, and will be soon 4, then 5, etc. In time, his days will be filled with school and friends and extra curricular activities – but now,…
I picked up Mark Strand’s new collection Almost Invisible and have been revisiting it several times now that I’m here in Spain, in Cadiz, here to relax and get myself whole again. Poem of the Spanish Poet In a hotel room somewhere in Iowa an American poet, tired of his poems, tired of being an American poet, leans back in his chair and imagines he is a Spanish poet, an old Spanish poet, nearing the…
The levante came and brought with it the heavy heat. Levante refers to the winds from the east, and in Spanish levantar means rise up, and literally it is like the sun that rises in the east. But interestingly enough the levante has nothing to do with rising up, it is more like laid out. We have been lazying around here until yesterday we couldn’t take it and went to the beach despite the fact…
The Croatian boys are visiting us here in Cadiz and Tin has instantly found his groove with them. It’s a great time to practice his Croatian and also feel like he’s amongst boys. Meanwhile, we formed a little band here in the apartment and had a jazz jam early in the day yesterday. After a couple of weeks I’m getting to play host to this lovely city. It’s so easy to do here because the…
July 15, 2012 Taurus (4/20-5/20) Every time something ends, there is a beginning, too — a germ of a new idea or hint of a potential new direction. Just because you said goodbye to something doesn’t mean it still can’t inspire or affect your future. Today, take the lessons you’ve learned and apply them to your newest relationship or business role. Your latest health concern should be addressed, either with a change in your routine…
We were standing in Plaza San Antonio when a statuesque woman from Seville asked me if I knew where the casino was – oddly enough I had passed a building that said casino on one of my walks and told her as much, but I couldn’t remember exactly where it was. Tatjana and Tin were with me and the woman lingered, talking, her boyfriend was working at the soon to be open larger than life…
I post Tinism’s on my Twitter account and have started to keep a log here as well. 2012 Jul 14 Tinism: “Mom, can we ride a whale for my birthday?” Jul 14 Tinism: “Mom, do musicians nap?” Jul 9 Tinism: How much is money? Jul 3 Tinism: “Mom, my new band name is Combo-sation. You got it?” Jul 1 Tinism: Tin: Guantanamera is a Puerto Rican song.” Mom: No, it’s Cuban. Tin: You don’t know,…
I’m sitting here listening to an elderly Spaniard tell her grandson to walk slower – the narrow streets of Cadiz are not for the weak. Around here grandmothers are the daycare industry. Back home in New Orleans the annual running with the bulls is happening in the French Quarter, only the bulls are gals on roller skates. There never ceases to be an ironic moment in my life. Photo courtesy of Grand Housesitter Ed Johnson: