"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." —Mark Twain
In the news
Several famous people have died recently, but astronaut Sally Ride’s death weighs on me more than the others. It’s not just that she was cheated of her threescore and ten, it’s that she was younger than me. When you reach a certain age, that becomes a comparative yardstick, and a gloomy one. I, like pretty […]
A shopping bag seems appropriate for this update, because I have in fact been shopping: for used motorcycle parts, raspberry iced tea, a pair of moccasins, a wifi range extender … The smell of consumer lust permeates Casa Paul. These days I do most of my shopping online, mainly through Amazon and eBay. I used […]
We’re taking our grandson Quentin bicycling tomorrow morning. Our friend Mary Anne is bringing along her granddaughter Jade. To keep the kids entertained, I thought we’d mix bicycling with geocaching. Turns out there are several caches near the park we’re meeting at tomorrow. Not wanting to embarrass myself in front of the children (or the adults), […]
What does that title even mean? Is the cat named Wednesday? Sure, why not? Let’s go with that. My son can’t believe I haven’t said anything about the F-22’s oxygen problems, or about the two whistleblower Raptor pilots who appeared on 60 Minutes last weekend. My first excuse comes easy: I know very little about […]
When I read The Hunger Games last year, one game contestant from the first book stood out from the others: Rue, the 12-year-old from one of Panem’s agricultural districts. Katniss, who volunteers for the games to protect her own 12-year-old sister, forms an alliance with Rue, even though they both know that if it comes […]
The end of the week has come again. The world’s most interesting couple doesn’t eat much steak, but when we do we eat it on Friday night … and with that in mind I took a flank steak out of the freezer this morning. This afternoon I’ll put it in a marinade of soy sauce […]
I’m working on the motorcycle today, so this’ll be a short entry. As an Air Force pilot I had to pass a complete flight physical every year. Under civilian rules, airline transport pilots are inspected even more often: two physicals per year, administered by FAA-certified doctors. So it’s unsettling that a pilot with obvious mental […]
I shouldn’t say odds & ends. It sounds too final. What I should say is odds, ends, & re-beginnings. Is re-beginnings a word? Sure, why the hell not? In Wyoming, during 8th and 9th grade, I had a best buddy. I moved to California but we kept in touch, and when I graduated from high […]