Benches

There are memorial benches all along Duluth's lakewalk. Some are right off the wooden boardwalk while others are tucked in wooded recesses along the cliffs.

I remember telling Josh during one of our walks after breakfast at Uncle Loui's on a summer Sunday afternoon what sort of memorial bench I would want.

"You see that lone rock out there," I pointed. "I'd want it out there so people would have to swim to it."

"But you can't even swim. Why would you want it there?" Josh asked.

"So people can sit someplace they'd know for sure I'd never been."

Latitudinarian

As I logged onto the internet, my Word for the Day was latitudinarian. It became a point of reflection and soul searching as to whether this adjective applied to me. I think I'll add it to my collection of words I use to describe myself and my life's blueprint. It's a word that rolls off the tongue and peaks interest!

Contributed by Ann.

Movie Dreaming

I like to think about how movies have changed how human beings dream. Slow-motion, cutting between scenes, varying visual angles--these things didn't exist in our minds before cinema, but they show up in my subconscious all the time.

Something to Believe In

I asked my friend, the poet Derek J. Rhodes what, if anything, he believed in. He said:

"I guess I only believe in one thing--people are more important than ideas, without exception. Individuals are more important than beliefs, causes, ideals, concepts, even God." He smiled before the last bit. "If there's a hell, it will be filled with ideas and regrettable circumstances. No, we haven't done anything unforgiveable."

So Write, Writer

My friend, Paul, call to chastise me for neglecting SSB. This is what he said:

"I don't care if you're working fourteen hour days. I don't care if you've 'lost your flow.' Hell, you could mangle your hands in an accident involving a wood chipper and I would be sad, but that's still no excuse. This is what you do. So write, writer."

Fair enough.

Cousins

There's just something fantastic about cousins. I've never been able to pin down exactly what it is I like so much about this particular subset of family, but I think that this picture comes very close to the heart of it.

Contributed by Sarah.

Bubbles

This morning Emma was sitting next to me while I was folding clothes. Calliou was on the TV. As I shook out a towel, Emma shouts, "Bubbles! Bubbles!" In the sunlight you can see dust mites floating--her "bubbles".

Contributed by Denise.