Tag: observation

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Fountain of Youth

FOUNTAIN-OF-YOUTH1The explorer Ponce de Leon was desperate to find a land of riches and the mystical “fountain of youth” when he landed in Florida in the early part of the fourteenth century. It was apparently a get rich quick scheme that had much more to do with finding gold and precious jewels than in locating the magical fountain that was said to reverse the aging process. In the Bible there is a similar fountain mentioned, in a place called Bethesda, where the sick and infirm came to touch the waters and be healed. Does it in fact exist in this day and age? I believe so.

First off, before you think I’m some kind of kook, I’ll explain. I don’t actually think there’s a basin with water in it that will bring back your youth. I don’t believe in magic of that kind, and neither, I think, did Ponce de Leon, or Hernando de Soto after him. I think they were fascinated by the idea of something otherworldly that could make them live forever, but aren’t we all? It’s one of the reasons I think we are so into vampires, zombies and the like right now. Just look at television shows, books, and movies.

Is that the answer? As a writer I am very sensitive to the idea of words being that source of everlasting youth. When I go back into my earlier writings I am transported back in time, and to an extent all readers are when they delve into literature from when they were young. The body secretes a hormone that emerges when those memories are triggered, creating a sense of release, not unlike letting out that breath that you were holding, like coming home and relaxing. The same is true of anything that triggers those memories, in essence bringing each person back to the time of his/her youth.

I believe it’s more than that, though. Continue reading “Fountain of Youth”

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The Watcher

I’m a people watcher. I always have been, since I was yoing and I would give my mother fits when we went out in public. Because not only did I watch people back then, but I also gave them names and loudly called them by their “names.” Before you think that I took pleasure in … Continue reading The Watcher

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Down to Earth

I’m looking out my window at the front lawn. The grass is cut low, but not because I cut it. My wife deals with the lawn maintenance because, honestly, she does a better job at it than I do. I don’t feel upset at that because I admit to it, but when she lets me I try my best to mimic her lawn care techniques. When I did mow regularly I used the push mower, even though the yard is not small. It’s how I got my workout back in the day. But I doubt the grass was this low back then.

Beyond the lawn is the sidewalk, which was freshly poured approximately three years ago, separated into blocks of concrete straight and true. It leads in a direct line toward the north of the village, where it dead-ends in a thick patch of woods. Odd, that a thick patch of woods would impinge upon an otherwise civilized place, but nevertheless it is the case. When I go for a walk, I can follow the path only so far until I have to take to the street to avoid the atrocity. Continue reading “Down to Earth”

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Old Woman Fishing

There was an old woman fishing on the edge of the creek today. I saw her there in the mid-morning hours, camped out there, as if she had been at it for hours. She was sporting a wide-brimmed fisher’s cap, or maybe it was even a gardening hat — they all look the same to … Continue reading Old Woman Fishing