Take a spoon to the writing river.
Sunday, August 23, 2026. It's Sol's day . . . a cool walk to the mailbox this morning. As of 8:20a.m. forecasts for Green Country are for cooler conditions today and much of tomorrow. Easterlies are indicated with upper 80's to low 90's in the afternoon with an index at 100º.
There are two kinds of writers: Those who need and benefit from writer's groups, and those who don't.
If we are willing to look deeper into the mundane activities of everyday life, what reveals itself is the spiritual nature inherent to all things.
Today is the birthdate of Edgar Lee Masters The author of The Spoon River Anthology, was born on this date in 1868 Garnett, Kansas.
It’s also the birthdate of Will Cuppy. The self proclaimed hermit with a humor writing gift was born in 1884 Auburn, Indiana.
“A hermit is simply a person to whom civilization has failed to adjust itself.” — Will Cuppy
The monastic flight from the world [what Father Richard calls ‘the system’] into the desert is not a mere refusal to know anything about the world, but a total rejection of all standards of judgment which imply attachment to a history of delusion and egoism… a definitive refusal to participate in those activities which have no other fruit than to prolong the reign of untruth, greed, cruelty and arrogance…. – Fr. Richard Rohr, Reflecting on Merton's influences on his meditative path, “Thomas Merton: A Monk in Action,” Meditations, The Center for Action and Contemplation.
On writing – from Mirabai Starr (in an email).
Greetings from the writing cave. The cave is a gorgeous little casita a hundred steps from the house I share with Ganga Das. I call it “my studio” because it is here that I create. My medium is language. My studio has ochre walls and birch floors, a mini fridge and a tiled shower, a sofa bed and a collection of Talavera pottery, floor to ceiling bookcases and an interspiritual altar. I could live here. But I'd rather go home every night to my beloved and our dogs.
Editing is not for the faint of heart. I mean, I love it. When I work with a manuscript I have already labored over, weaving in input from another set of eyes, the angels in the marble that Michelangelo spoke of start to emerge and it's thrilling. But wow, the process is intense. It takes everything. The effort, combined with the nature of the content—in this case grief—kicks my ass, I won't lie. But a year from now you should be able to hold this angel of a book in your hands and the pages will flow.
My PhD degree was awarded by The University of Oklahoma which has decided to float a proposal for a three-year bachelor's degree. .Most bachelor degree programs – the infamous B.A. – across the nation average about 126 credit hours. OU's new program will be 90 hours. First up: Regents will consider new programs in social work and cybersecurity. What 36 hours are going to be cut? They haven't said. Hide and watch: It'll be liberal arts and elective freedom, of course That said, tBhe new program won't be a replacement for the entire curriculum. The motive is economic: a cheaper and less time consuming degree certifying the recipient as job-force ready. Makes me wonder about the future quality of the job market. In my career, I've interviewed and been told, more than once, by several respected corporate execs “I can train a junior highschooler to flip a switch or read a bullet list outloud. What I want is a mature individual who can think their way out of a box.” Face it: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow – cheap is cheap. Bring on the humanities educated Uber driver.