A taste of the green fairy in Antigua — Absinthe is an anise-flavored spirit made from several plants, including flowers and leaves of the Artemisia absinthium. Along with green anise, sweet fennel and other medicinal herbs are part of the mix. The taste is compared to black licorice and is often described as a little bitter. Absinthe was once…

Handling a strange situation — ‘Freddy, don’t they teach you to clean your plate at home?’ Joe’s father eyed me from his end at the head of the dinner table. The comfortable, small dining nook in sight of the well-lit kitchen was carpeted in a soft thick, beige, a large display cabinet showed the favored…

Fun ‘ensemble’ review from the mid-sixties. — Photo By Author I remember in high school how much fun it was to sport penny loafers. They used to be called Bass Weejuns which is still one of the major brand names for those classic brown, coin slot loafers every teenager and twenty something used to have. Still have…

We’ve been doing this since the start… — Good morning, This is Tuesday. Getting another day started. Almost feels like I’m writing against the clock. Almost as if time were running out. Well, it is, I know, but it just feels like that more than usual. …

As told to me by a friend. ‘Not going into the stripped-down description of this word. Not by poem. Not by scholarly analyses, neither by careless whim as in song.’ The thoughts just poured in, overrode all efforts at holding it all back as might a dam, or as a squeegee audibly pushing away perfectly the wet…

Maybe once in five lifetimes… — There is a backup of things. Just as surely as there is breath. Just as fleeting. In, out, in, out… Already was. So long ago and yet. How long ago? Someone said it was expected. Such a sure thing. On that Big Sur fog covered shoal. Across the windswept rock-bound…

There is an arising, a persisting and then an ending… — picture of Max, by author For fourteen years Max has been an endless joy. There was a time back not so long ago when the passing of the family canine wasn’t so big a deal. After all, they’re just dogs, right? If I had a wish it would be that…

The jungle and the camaraderie are what it’s all about. — It’s still dark out, the early birds already singing, a slight, dewy cool left from the night soon will turn into subtropical heat. Like a sauna. So we pack thinking ahead to seven hours of fishing in one of the hottest, most humid places on the planet. Snacks include peanut…

A chapter had reached its’ end. — They sat silently. Two aging lovers. The warm coastal breeze reached them. The not unpleasant taste of rotting sea vegetation and sea salt came over them in subtle waves. Their vantage point from the two stories, thatched roofed bar eatery gave them a sweeping view far out to sea. …