Posts by D C

One of my favorite surprises in life is when someone invites me to see something I’ve taken for granted or not thought much about. This happened recently when I was reading a collection of short essays written by a monk, Jeremy Driscoll. Father Jeremy’s essay pointed me to something right in front of my eyes,…

I was reminded by Muslim friends that Ramadan just ended on March 30. Ramadan is the month in the Islamic calendar that celebrates the first revelations of the Quran given to Muhammad. This year, Ramadan and the Christian season of Lent overlapped, Lent running until Holy Week and then Easter on April 20. Lent, like…

My wife has relatives in Scandinavia with whom she is extremely close. Recently, they have let us know that their countries and neighboring countries are on high alert because of the Ukrainian situation. Doing some investigating, I learned that Sweden’s military is conducting war drills to prepare for a possible Russian invasion. This isn’t some…

One of Shakespeare’s most memorable quotations is “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” Like other quotes from the Bard, this one can be interpreted in many fruitful ways. One of the ways Shakespeare’s quotation speaks to me is its emphasis on the word “all.” “All men and women…

I confess that I love to take rides in the car, especially on scenic byways. Last month, I was able to take one of my favorite rides, the Turquoise Trail that runs from east of Albuquerque to Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is not the fastest or most direct route to Santa Fe, but then…

My wife and I managed to miss the cold snap last week by being in New Mexico for both work and play. New Mexico is one of our favorite places to visit, its beauty on display from every direction. What I hadn’t anticipated was how much of our stay would have me confronted by national…

Let’s begin with a strange question. Who among all the people living now will be remembered in a thousand years? We might assume that anyone from our era who will be remembered in 3025 must have been famous in his or her lifetime. Do we think that current political leaders, here or elsewhere in the…

Of all the continents, none has had a more troubling history than Africa. In Joseph Conrad’s masterpiece Heart of Darkness, Conrad sifts the metaphor of darkness from the African peoples to the Europeans who enslaved millions from West Central Africa and then divided up the entire continent into European colonies. It is only since the…

In the writing workshops I offer, I like to talk about mud. When I do, I often see a puzzled expression on the faces of participants, but there is a connection between mud and writing. My workshops are for people who have an idea for a book, fiction or non-fiction, but who want some advice…