beauty

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Point of View: Letting in the Light

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Light and ladder - deposit photos

Not since the depths of the pandemic have things seemed so dark. And at least then, there was a brief (these things are always brief) feeling of unity as we faced the viral invader together. Now there are wars breaking out, senseless and savage slaughter, rapidly escalating climate change, political chaos, and, as if nature had a sense of humor, a fiery eclipse. It’s enough to throw even the strongest of us into despair. I’m not immune, either. Though I have a generally optimistic mindset, one that usually springs back quickly, even I find myself dragged down by the seemingly … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: There’s Always Beauty in the Garden

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Flowers From Scott's Garden

This column was going to be titled “Here We Go Again,” and would have been all about the delta variant and being a writer, and about Mark and I having to shrink the boundaries of our world once again. But fuck that. I am so sick of talking about Covid19 and conspiracies and vaccines and face masks and lockdowns and rabid politicians and shortages of Yasso Bars and cashews and boba pearls and Tazo green tea. I need a little beauty. One of our favorite TV shows is Arrested Development, the comedic story of a very dysfunctional family. In one … Read more

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POINT OF VIEW: Days of Despair, Moments of Grace and Beauty

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Tulips - pixabay

These are trying times for most of the people I know. Our country is in a shambles. The headlines dominating the news would have been unthinkable just two years ago – a porn star threatening to describe a sitting president’s “junk.” A US senator berating kinds for trying to stop gun violence. An unchained Russia meddling in other countries’ affairs with impunity, changing elections, supporting discord, and killing expatriates on foreign soil. Closer to home, Mark and I have friends dealing with parental loss, cancer, and depression. In the midst of the longest run of economic “prosperity” in decades, we … Read more

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Point of View: A Writer Responds to Paris

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Paris Flower

We all know about the terrible tragedy in Paris on Friday. It was more than a tragedy; it was an atrocity, because it was perpetrated intentionally by human hands. Jack McDevitt, one of my favorite sci fi authors, talks about how a man can come to do these things to another human being: These killers are equipped with brains, but obviously don’t use them. That’s not a trait that is limited to some branches of Islam. We’ve seen it in western culture, too. Not that it necessarily leads to homicide, but we have substantial numbers of people who have made … Read more