Famished Writer

In my not so little anymore community (not pictured), there is a heated debate currently underway about a new development project that is counter-intuitively been dubbed the “85/15 Open Space” project. The coastal area in which this development is proposed will enable the natural landscape (specifically estuary and lagoon) to become more accessible for walking and viewing by the public as a natural reserve. The proposed development also includes park areas along a green belt, and an outdoor mall less than 1 mile from an existing ‘Outlet Mall’). Another part of this 85% for nature and 15% for humans project includes the protection of a community loved, family owned and operated large strawberry field (supposedly due to close based on financial instability of the owners and the costs associated with the property). In every town across America, in perhaps every community in the world , there are two opposing camps trying to find a happy medium where both can live in harmony. ...

Image By U.S. Navy photo by Chief Warrant Officer Seth Rossman. [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. E verybody loves a hero. Americans love heroism so much if there’s none to be found we will make one up. Not just Hollywood but the national media is churning out everyday heroes every day.  There’s nothing wrong with that, heroes prove fairy tales can be true. A reason for hope perhaps, but we often forget the best fiction is made from non-fiction, even the Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. Mythical creatures are often utilized to separate reality from fantasy and yet these “fantastic” stories are based on humanity’s version of good versus bad. The good guy (like you) will always win.  Image By United States Army [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Master Sgt. Juan Negron, listed as an overlooked medal of honor recipient.  Most would define a hero as selfless, courageous and strong (they must survive in order to b...

September Morn (1912), Image of painting by Paul Émile Chabas [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Skin, Oh skin, where to begin? As the largest and most visible organ of the human body, our skin really gets the smallest credit. There are plenty of sayings about skin but perhaps our skin has become too thick to absorb more than the skin deep (surface) meaning. Slap me some skin No skin off my back/nose That makes my skin crawl I jumped out of my skin By the skin of my teeth Comfortable in your own skin You're just skin and bones And of course, there’s more than one way to skin a cat, old sayings die hard as they say without saying exactly what is meant. Metaphorically, our skin is our container, our packaging, the exposed and judged part of our life that we carry with us from the moment we receive our first sensations of light and heat to our last dying shudder marked with chicken skin (goose bumps). Our skin has a built-in recipe for magic called hea...

It all started with a purple picture of our planet. Have you ever been shopping at a store or dining out when the power goes out or just the credit card terminal is on the fritz? It’s quite comical actually. In fact, the level of confuzzlement seems directly related to the age of the person needing to take your money. The younger the cashier/clerk/waiter is, the higher this level peaks. Of course cash would solve the problem, but who carries that anymore? I have encountered some MacGyver -esque cashiers who tear a strip of receipt tape and rub your credit cards raised image onto it, it works. Basically this procedure is like a retro version of those old plastic and metal slide credit card device with those carbon copy slips, most stores don’t even have those lying around anymore, I've even shown someone how to use one (as a customer). I’ve also seen the look of defeat on those young faces, the contemplation of “giving it away” (items or goods) instead of figuring a w...

Image taken by By Martyn Seddon [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons. “…memory cannot retrace its path that far unless Another guide it.” Paradiso, Dante (Canto 18 L. 11-12) Looking back and reflecting on the crystal clarity of reflection (which is also commonly called 'logic'), I have surmised from experience that looking back doesn't do anything positive for forward momentum. I mean, certainly Kierkegaard was right about many things, namely his point about only being able to understand life backwards, and subsequently only being able to live in a forward direction. Most basically, if you were to imagine a timeline with arrows representing directional time, Kierkegaard’s well-known psychological observation would look something like this (the blurriness of the line itself is appropriate): LIFELINE                                   Understanding         ...