athoughtfullyautomaticcollection

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Once Upon a Time at a Resort Hotel

Fruit can be a fussy subject. And I’ll get to that in moment. but first: The Grand Hotel Back when I was a Pius Itinerant, I spent an entire summer at a large resort hotel in Maine. I started out washing dishes in the kitchen, moved up to busboy, and eventually became a waiter. The Maitre ‘D tried to convince me that I had a future in Hotels if I only stuck at it. But of course, where’s the…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Cultivate

We’ve all heard the old saw about cultivating our own garden. It’s not hooey. I’ve had a small garden at almost every location I’ve lived since I came off the road. Sometimes it’s only been a window box, and at others, it’s been a big, fully configured garden. Currently, it features a variety of large, 30-inch-tall raised beds, planter bags, and assorted items filled with plants. The other day,…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Judy's Number Game - #72

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Lessons Well Learned

After my Federal job disappeared, under the Clinton-Gore Reinvention of Government, I found myself with a small business as a maritime carver. I carved quarterboards, transom banners, eagles, and portraits of people’s boats. My stress levels were significantly lower, and I was able to do what I enjoyed regularly. I attended about four to five boat shows a year and also loved the people I…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Threesome

A rabbi, a priest, and a Buddhist monk walked into the coffeehouse and discussed free will. No, it’s not a setup for a bad joke. It was something that frequently happened at the Rienzi Coffeehouse in Greenwich Village. It was the informal get-together of three friends, and not something unusual in a place like New York. Sometimes, it seemed as though the plain diversity of the place was part of…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Not yet for this Dogwood

It’s an alternate leaved dogwood. A memeber of the same genus at the other dogwoods, but smaller and with an lovely pryamidal shape when allowed to grow freely. It’s just a little slower to open, it’s very lovely, small blossoms.

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Step Right up! Step Right Up!!

One or two of you expect a rant about the darlings in Washington. Nope. I feel that true change for people comes from more fundamental changes. Alter the underlying patterns, and the rest follows. As a martial arts sensei once showed me, grab the nose, and the body follows – OOHH, that hurt. Yes, alter fundamentals, and watch the rest of the behavior follow. So what am I ranting about today?…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Favored

I have had a history of favorite places, over the years. Way back when, before I left New York City, I had a favorite place in Van Cortlandt Park. It was a grove of tulip trees, and when I went for hikes, in what was actually an urban forest, I always made sure to walk slowly through and appreciate the tall and graceful trunks of the mature trees. Later on the Rienzi Coffeehouse became my…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Snap, Please!

My wife is a nurse, and I, of course, spent about seven years in the Operating Room as a tech and assistant. So, of course, our conversations sometimes turn to things medical. This morning we were talking about tariffs. What does that have to do with medical stuff? Well, as you may be aware, many of our pharmaceuticals come from abroad. The next time you pick up your prescription, you might…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Ay Candela!

Last fall, the Buena Vista Social Club was on tour. My wife, my oldest son, and his wife and I went to see them. That’s an understatement! Going to the Buena Vista Social Club is a full workout experience. Well before the middle of the concert, many of us were up dancing in front of our seats or in the aisles. The people in front of us scooted into the aisles and started showing off some…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

What's Community

When I was training to be an anthropologist back in the seventies most of the people I knew were queasy with the concept of community that was non-physically mediated. People had begun to describe their professional groups, clubs, and such, as communities. The concept of a community as a physically bounded entity began slipping. We were taught that communities had physical boundaries, means of…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Drown

Written for the Six Minute Challenge: Trauma. That’s the only way to describe it. I only takes about six minutes. But oh those six minutes. It was the United State Navy third Class swimming certification. Baidcally there three parts: Deep Water Jump 50 Yard Swim 5 Minutes Prone Float OK not to bad of rht eh first two, but it was the final bit that I” remember forever . flunk it and you get…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Comeback

It may sound strange to hear that I am beginning my prep for winter, but I am. The last one was terrible. Well, not the whole thing, just January and most of February. Enough, huh? I float along on the remainder of the holiday season for a week into January. Then it hits: cold, dark, very little shaking. So, in the past years, I’ve started in spring to plan for winter. Last year, it was just one…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Wrong Man, Wrong Woman, Wrong Time

I had a nightmare the other night. It was many years ago, and I was younger. I was at a dance. In those days, I commonly fell for women who were poorly suited for me. And I tended to meet those for whom I was poorly suited. The results were some pretty sensual, but explosive relationships, thankfully far in my past. But last night I had this very disturbing dream, and had to write about it. The…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Judy's Number Game- #71

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Sartorial

To look at me, you would avoid descriptors like “Sartorial Lion”, stylish or fashionable. Frumpy, casual, or sloppy are terms that might fit better. When working at the TV station, I am rarely seen. We don’t call the elegant facilities ‘THE CRYPT.” for no reason. Someone could roll a boulder over it, and nobody would notice. So, excelling in a sartorial fashion is not needed. Likewise, when I…

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Blather

From the WTF am I on about site here is my offering: Lefkowitz moved from something similar to a Bach fugue to an interlude that morphed into a 12 bar blues. Mitch provided some impromptu lyrics, and Sue did some neat things with her soprano voice. I had a bad cold and sore throat, so I just sipped my extra-large tea with honey. After Lefkowitz finished up, Mitch picked out one of his tunes for…