The Duck Call
On humble objects, deep time, and the breath of the people we have loved.
family
The Return of the Ducks
On homecoming — theirs and mine — and the land that holds us all without distinction.
Memory of a Gordian Knot
When I was sixteen years old, I had an emergency appendectomy. But that’s not what I want to write about. This is about my father. After the surgery, decades ago, I ended up on my back for several days and wasn’t allowed to sit up. At the time
The Pathos of Pots and Pans
How I Came to Sell Her Cookware As some of you may know, I am a bookseller dealing in antique and second hand books. As such, I am often contacted by set dressers wanting a certain type of book or ‘look’ for their sets. While conversing recently with a set
Pronouns of Acceptance
Firstly, I would like to thank my dear friend Frank. I came to know this remarkable man almost a decade ago and have nothing but respect and admiration for him. It should also be stated that we come from very different backgrounds (he was raised and lived in various southern
A Third Death in the Family
And so, yet another death in 2024. This time it was our beloved cat, Cream. Cream came to us as a rescue about 17 or 18 years ago. My son found her as a wisp of a calico kitten, abandoned and trapped in a construction site. Since that moment, Cream
Another Death in the Family
Just two months ago, on July 6, we lost our beloved German Shepherd, Luna. Now our equally beloved Sally is gone. She was in her 18th year, born in 2006. Supposedly a Miniature Pinscher, she was likely mixed with Manchester Terrier. Sally was a rescue and came to us unexpectedly.
A Death in the Family
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” – Anatole France Our beloved dog Luna died early in the morning of July 6th at the age of 17. She was not our first dog. And we have another dog still living. Nonetheless, Luna was
Something Wicked This Way Came
In the mid-1990s my family and I were vacationing on the Island of Saint Kitts. The choice of Saint Kitts was largely mine. My 6th great-grandfather Robert Choppin (died 1688) arrived in Saint Kitts in 1629 as part of the fleet of Sir Thomas Warner (who was one of the
Islands of Genius in a Sea of Ordinary Life
In the 5th hour of the 5th day of the 5th month of the 5th year of this new millennium my mother died. Perhaps she was making it easy for me to remember. Nonetheless, she would have liked the numerical symmetry of it. Her interior or innate wiring was a
Strangers on a Train; Or How I Met Your Father
Looking back, I now see that trains and train stations have been a constant backdrop in my life — hours of commuting to high school, travelling to and from university, going to visit my parents when we lived in different regions of Italy. It was on one of these trips from
Michael Who Chose Not to Be
Recently my 8-year-old granddaughter asked why I don’t have any brothers or sisters. An easy or difficult question to answer, depending on how philosophical or “historically” accurate you choose to be. In truth, I might have had an older brother, or at least for a very brief moment in