It seems God–or someone–is trying to send me a message. It came through loud and clear over the past 48 hours. I think the message is “Stay Home!” Here’s how the coded message came through in very attention-getting ways. I had just spent a wonderful week in California visiting old …
It’s been just five days short of a year, when at the end of election day, 11/8/2016, I lapsed into the stupor that I still find myself in–the one that has kept me from being able to write blog posts, or anything else more than a Facebook comment, except for …
Okay, I have to admit that my comatose state has hardly improved since I first reported it back in February…what?? That was almost four months ago. See what I mean? Time keeps slipping by and I remain catatonic at best, except for the frequent bursts of horror over the latest …
I admit it. I’ve been comatose since January 20. The U.S. Presidential inauguration still has me shaking my head in disbelief, and more to the point, horror. After the election back in November of last year (2016), I kept thinking something would happen to prevent the inauguration of the unthinkable. …
Hygge. A word I’ve been seeing more and more and didn’t know what it was until I heard an NPR program devoted to it and what it means, where it comes from, why it’s good, and how to get it. First, the pronunciation: “hue-geh.” If you want a more detailed …
Sometimes–like now when we in the United States have just doomed ourselves and the rest of the world to a four-year nightmare that promises to undermine and destroy any progress we have made for people, animals, and the land–providing the planet survives this siege at all, I want to run away …
I had planned to post a piece with this title weeks ago–when the latest hurricane came through, as “cone of uncertainty” is a weather term, of which I had not been aware until a friend in another state emailed to ask if I was in the “cone of uncertainty”–the geographic …
A Place to Call Home…the name of an Australian TV series that airs on PBS stations in the US, The title would seem to apply to a lot of us. It does to me, at least, and in talking with others, as well as from reading articles on the subject, …
It seems we in South Carolina missed September this year as it’s now October 4, but feels more like what September 4 used to feel like, back when there was September. We had a lengthy August this year–it took over what used to be September, or so it seems. Temperatures …
Do you believe in the afterlife? If not, the following still applies to you, so keep reading. If you do believe there is life after this one, are you looking for a shortcut to get there faster? Well, the possible good–or not-so-good?–news for you is that it seems we do …
It doesn’t just seem that all animals are endangered, it’s really true. I’m starting with just a few of the species recently in the news, but believe me, it applies to all animals everywhere that man can get his grubby hands on. Wild horses, burros, and wolves in the American …
This week I was transported back to a time nine years ago when I was living in California and spent an intense six months, somewhat under the spell of a would-be guru who profusely proclaimed that he was not that. I’ve wondered what happened to him, and although I’ve had …
A fellow blogger recently posted a piece based on the word “cute”–she hates it. It’s a pet peeve word with her, apparently–one that she does not want to hear unless it applies to toddlers or puppies, she says. She particularly doesn’t like the word if it’s applied in any way …
It happened last week in Rio at the Olympic Games–the Equestrian Dressage competition, to be exact. A Dutch rider withdrew, just a couple of minutes into her ride…and then the drama began, or more accurately, became an event in itself. For the uninitiated, “dressage” as applied to horses refers to …
Just when you think your life is playing out perfectly and the future is bright, all can be lost in an instant and that bright future turned into a murky haze of nothingness…and then, almost as quickly–at least in the big picture, the converse. Two people I know/know of, one …
It’s summer, it’s South Carolina, and it’s HOT…and until recently, it’s been very dry. That means for those of us who want to have anything survive in our gardens or yards, we have to find a way to keep them watered. I’m lucky in that I have drip systems and …
It’s the 4th of July and there are many things I could say about that, but I’ll refrain, for now. Instead, I’m changing the subject to a phone call I received a few hours ago, subsequent to a phone call I received two days ago, both from a longtime friend, …
It not only seems that this blog is in a state of neglect, it actually is–or has been. Two years is two too long. My intention is to rectify that. My excuses? Well, of course there are many, but the fact is that I moved from west to east coast …
Time and time again I am reminded that like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, whatever it is I think I need is usually right in front of me, but for some inexplicable reason I seem incapable of seeing that until I’ve exhausted all other possibilities. I am really trying …
It seemed this month’s full moon would never end, and did it ever seem to bring out the crazies. I took this full moon photo on the night before it was officially full (Tuesday), and that’s when someone apparently opened the doors to the looney bin. Just a few hours …
It seems insane. All of the months of preparation, planning, and doing that are aimed at one day–just one day, and then, just like that, it’s over in twenty four hours, or more likely, in just twelve–or fewer. The decorations, the gifts, the dinner–each representing untold hours of effort in …
I keep getting notices from Sunset magazine that my subscription is up for renewal. It seems my subscription is about to run out. But didn’t I just renew it a few months back? I remember from years ago when I was a subscriber to TIME magazine (same parent company of …
It seems we are all seasonal–or at least subjected to the vagaries of whatever “seasonal” implies. I first became aware of “seasonal”” as it relates to food availability when I lived in France and had the audacity to be searching for a frozen turkey in November (this obviously before I …
Money and age. It’s all in the numbers–or more exactly, in our perceptions of what the numbers mean. Money first. Yesterday I heard from a friend who’s waiting for a house, of which she is part-owner, to sell. She’s been waiting for a long time for this sale to happen …
What a historic week it was–finally, the official acceptance of marriage for all–specifically for those who are gay and who have been denied this right because…well, why exactly? It seemingly had to do with traditional …
It seems the air conditioner in my Jeep has issues–but only under specific conditions. The weather must be HOT in order for the AC to cut out. Cool or just warm outside temps don’t phase it–it’s only when it …
It seemed so innocent. A Facebook picture of a friend on Mother’s Day. The picture was beautiful–my friend is beautiful, and the necklace she was wearing looked so beautiful on her. I became obsessed with the necklace. So, I emailed my friend to see if she had found it recently, …
It seems I have successfully communicated with a most unlikely being–a lizard. This is unlikely not only because I don’t particularly like lizards, but because in all normal situations I wouldn’t necessarily choose to engage one in conversation. But this lizard was in my house, brought there undoubtedly by my …
(The photo that appears with this piece was chosen precisely because it has absolutely nothing to do with the subject under investigation.) The subject was saliva. Ick. Mary Roach, who was being interviewed on today’s Fresh Air program on NPR, admits that saliva is something we don’t like to think or talk …
It seemed so simple. All I had to do was sign 35 pieces of paper, have five of them notarized, overnight them via Fed Ex, using the label that had been sent in an email. Papers signed and notarized, I set sail for Fed Ex. First mistake: I followed the …
“Nothing is at it appears.” I heard this quote on NPR recently–it was credited to Terry Tempest Williams. In doing a Google search to more precisely pinpoint it, I find that many others are also credited with it, or with a very close paraphrase of it–enough to convince me that …
The Lincoln Town Car is making a comeback, or so it seems according to what I’ve heard on the news over the past few days. Who would have thought? The resurrection of a gas guzzling dinosaur, now, when American gas prices are at their all-time highs? But, yes, it’s true. …
It seems I’ve been on a wild goose chase (those who know me also know that I’m famous for those). This time the chase was for Thanksgiving decorations–specifically pilgrim hats to outfit the barnyard crew (Mr. Big and friends) for their Thanksgiving photo shoot. But wait–it seems that it’s already …
Why should an indiscrete romp of the-bedroom-sort count as grounds for dismissal of an accomplished, respected, highly qualified man whose job performance now can hardly be negatively impacted by this caving to hormones two years ago? Had he been caught at the time–yes, his judgment on the job might well …
One day after The Election and the tension of yesterday has morphed into elated relief or doomed despair. Same event, different views. The way it seems…my point exactly.
Just when you think you know who your friends are, there’s a presidential election and suddenly some of your friends seem to have become your worst enemies–without any specific provocation from you. I know–it’s just happened to me–again–as it does every four years. So, who are our friends? Friendship means …
I’m in Connecticut and being seduced by the glorious New England fall–the colors, the sun, the blue skies, the cool air, the endless green fields bordered by by tall trees and deep woods. Thank heavens I lived in Vermont for the 17 years that I did–otherwise, I would likely fall …
The way it seems is often not the way it is. Nearly everything is subject to personal interpretation, as well as the passage of time. The way it seemed then, may not be the way it seems now, or the way it will seem in the future. What are these variables and these shifts in perception? Are there no absolutes? Coming to the conclusion that few things are fact and fact alone, this blog takes a look at our everyday experiences, observing the differing ways we perceive what is—seemingly–right in front of us.
— Nancy Babcock
The way it seems is often not the way it is. Nearly everything is subject to personal interpretation, as well as the passage of time. The way it seemed then, may not be the way it seems now, or the way it will seem in the future. What are these variables and these shifts in perception? Are there no absolutes? Coming to the conclusion that few things are fact and fact alone, this blog takes a look at our everyday experiences, observing the differing ways we perceive what is—seemingly–right in front of us.
— Nancy Babcock
Often, the way it seems depends on who’s doing the observing. The first time this became irrefutably obvious to me was one day, years ago now, when I got two back-to-back phone calls, one from my mother, one from my Aunt Chee. I was living in Atlanta, they were both …
The way it seems is often not the way it is. Nearly everything is subject to personal interpretation, as well as the passage of time. The way it seemed then, may not be the way it seems now, or the way it will seem in the future. What are these variables and these shifts in perception? Are there no absolutes? Coming to the conclusion that few things are fact and fact alone, this blog takes a look at our everyday experiences, observing the differing ways we perceive what is—seemingly–right in front of us.
— Nancy Babcock
The way it seems is often not the way it is. Nearly everything is subject to personal interpretation, as well as the passage of time. The way it seemed then, may not be the way it seems now, or the way it will seem in the future. What are these variables and these shifts in perception? Are there no absolutes? Coming to the conclusion that few things are fact and fact alone, this blog takes a look at our everyday experiences, observing the differing ways we perceive what is—seemingly–right in front of us.
— Nancy Babcock