Wednesday, December 5, 2001
On a whim, I took off work today. I have several vacation days left to take anyway. I really enjoyed myself, particularly with the seventy-degree weather. I replaced some of the Christmas lights in my garden, and ripped several CDs to mp3. I read several more chapters of Every Man’s Battle — great book, by the way — then had a wonderful lunch with my Mom (in the gazebo!), followedy by an hours-long chat with her about all sorts […]
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
Here’s some free writing advice: “If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn […]
Monday, December 3, 2001
I keep a wary eye on the greasy fat man. He grunts something I can’t hear as he grabs the metal bar sticking out of the vat of boiling tar. He prods the inside of the tar barrel like a primitive villager skewers a dead pig, over and over. Beads of sweat roll down his temples. Suddenly he spins, the tar-covered metal bar still in his hand. I’m now glad for my wariness; I skitter out of the way […]
Sunday, December 2, 2001
I’m sitting alone in my darkened bedroom, which is faintly illumined in the antiseptic, artificial glow of two monitors. This is like hospital lighting, only dimmer. I’ve spent the weekend productively. Saturday morning was spent at the Common Grounds coffee house, discussing Pilgrim’s Progress with my book club and playing a spontaneous game of chess on the weathered chessboard that sat between us. It re-kindled my interest in the game, and as a result I spent […]