Us Animals

While strolling around the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford with a friend, we enjoyed the sunny, clear Fall day observing the animals, foliage and many young visitors. After awhile, it occurred to me that human and animal behavior is much alike. The small bipeds like Tamarins in the Rainforest house prefer high branches above…

Coastal Thoughts

The progression of landuse in developed areas follows an irregular path, much like human history. We are human, living as time passes in the company of many, many others. Things change. Think how some acres of land might change in the past 400 years, Take for example a stretch of land along the Acushnet River…

REAL MERCHANDICE Once we advanced beyond subsistence life, early markets drew fundamental items like crops,livestock, slaves, land, fish, mined minerals, pelts. Items were priced, negotiated and sold.Following markets based on fabricated goods, crafts, art, collectables came next. As capitalismprevailed spontaneous markets could open, when someone offered to buy the boots you worewhile walking down the…

TIME TRAVEL IN NEW ENGLAND

Real time.   I know what that means.  In common parlance it means clock time, calendar time. I know what lived time means.  It means how long time feels, both living through it and looking back on it. January has 31 days. This year, and most years, to speak frankly, the lived time is about 91…

Kitten Smitten

I thought I was done with pets. Five years ago, just months after my mother died, our family cat was put down when he began to suffer. He’d stopped eating, grooming himself, could barely drag himself around the house. He’d been my daughter’s cat for nineteen years, and it broke all our hearts to let…

The Joys of Voice to Text

I teach Human Anatomy and Physiology for incoming college freshman, and because I am a horrible teacher, I ask my students to take tests in essay/short answer format. I also make them do take-home tests, open note, open book, untimed, for the same reason. This almost always leads to some fun answers though in the…

STRANDED

Today I saw earthworms, stranded by dawn patient on a pavements rough crossing, willingly waiting for death in one of his thousand certain faces to collect the price for their spring night’s daring. Folks, eastering their way plan for hope resurrected again and again. Commencements and weddings roll in white gold processions of loss and…

The Woman He Loved

I'd hoped to announce that my sixth book would be published in this space. Alas, it will be a few hours or days more. Regardless, here is the first chapter. Look on Amazon later this week, author name Solange DewBerry. Update: the book was published last night. In case you are interested, here is the…

What Can We Say This Spring

What can we say When there are no words That say how dark it is That say how cruel it is That say how wrong it is. Let’s just say light, love, peace And hope for those to come. A man sobs and clings to his teenage son, dead. Doctors weep as a six year…

Fleeing, and Fighting

I shall post this in three days time, from when the fighting began. So much can change. I don’t know what Ukraine will look like then. Will Putin win, and will he roll over the country and move on to Moldova and into Romania? Will he be forced back, not by greater strength, but by…