Counting Down to the Big Six-Oh: The Stuff that Helps Keep Me ‘Young at Heart’


“You’re never too old to be young.” ― Charles F Glassman As you know, I’ll be celebrating my 60th birthday in (as I write this) less than 29 days. This, of course, means that I have many of the responsibilities and some of the skills that a guy my age has. I pay rent. IContinue reading “Counting Down to the Big Six-Oh: The Stuff that Helps Keep Me ‘Young at Heart’”

Tempus Fugit: Life As I Knew It in January of ’73


Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. – Anthony G. Oettinger On January 20, 1973, I was nine going on 10 and lived in a modest but comfortable house, along with my widowed mother and my older half-sister, in Westchester, a suburb of Miami, Florida. 50 years ago, January 20 fell onContinue reading “Tempus Fugit: Life As I Knew It in January of ’73”

Musings & Thoughts for Sunday, January 8, 2023 – Special Tempus Fugit Edition


Hi, there, Dear Reader. On this lovely, cool – for the subtropics, anyway – midday on Sunday, January 8, 2022, I find myself reflecting that 2023 marks a plethora of significant anniversary dates. Mixed Feelings Some, like my birthday – March 5, for those of you who want to pencil it in their social calendarsContinue reading “Musings & Thoughts for Sunday, January 8, 2023 – Special Tempus Fugit Edition”

Tempus Fugit: Hazy (But Happy!) Memories of Christmas 1972


Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time. –  Laura Ingalls Wilder I wish I had vivid memories of my first Christmas as a permanent resident of the state of Florida after our unexpectedContinue reading “Tempus Fugit: Hazy (But Happy!) Memories of Christmas 1972”

Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, December 17, 2022, or: Chilly Day in Tampa Bay Area Triggers Memories of Sevilla in 1988


“Fare thee well, and if for ever Still for ever fare thee well.” ― George Gordon Byron Today I woke up to an even chillier – by Florida standards, anyway – morning than I did the day before; the sun had only just risen, so it was still semi-dark outside, with temperatures in the lowContinue reading “Musings & Thoughts for Saturday, December 17, 2022, or: Chilly Day in Tampa Bay Area Triggers Memories of Sevilla in 1988”

Tempus Fugit: Remembering Mid-December, 1972: New School, New Girlfriend, and Apollo’s Last Hurrah


“December is the holdout month, all the others torn away.” ― Anne Gisleson, The Futilitarians: Our Year of Thinking, Drinking, Grieving, and Reading With Christmas Day of 2022 only 12 days away – and New Year’s Eve 18 days in the future – and my move to Brandon looming on a date that is “TBA”Continue reading “Tempus Fugit: Remembering Mid-December, 1972: New School, New Girlfriend, and Apollo’s Last Hurrah”

Five Things I Am Good At


Share five things you’re good at. Auburn hair, loose, brushed Past fair shoulders gently spills Catches morning’s light

On Books & Reading: The Joy of Reading (and Rereading) Books…It’s in My DNA!


On Books and Reading “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.”― Oscar Wilde Over the years, as I have grown older, grayer, and more set in my ways, I’ve noticed how many habits I have that are like those of my momContinue reading “On Books & Reading: The Joy of Reading (and Rereading) Books…It’s in My DNA!”

Musings & Thoughts for Monday, October 17, 2022, or: Remembering Mom on Her 94th Birthday


Today – Monday, October 17, 2022 – would have been my mother’s 94th birthday. For me, this date has been bittersweet for quite some time. Sure, it is a sadder occasion now because Mom died on July 19 – a Sunday – of 2015, less than three months before her 87th birthday. But even duringContinue reading “Musings & Thoughts for Monday, October 17, 2022, or: Remembering Mom on Her 94th Birthday”