Gone Away
Dispatches from a life in America
270 posts
Mad and the Pootle
In some ways, life is like a river. It flows smoothly at some times and roughly at others. Generally speaking, the rapids and waterfalls occur in the higher reaches of the river, when it is young and still full of…
Factory Tales 2
As I mentioned in the first of these Factory Tales , most of my time at Morris Engines was spent in the con rod section. A con rod (connecting rod) is that part of an engine that connects the piston to the crankshaft…
Aruba
The ongoing news story of Natalee Holloway's disappearance on the island of Aruba has incidentally highlighted an area of ignorance for me. I had vague memories of having heard of the island before but had no idea where…
Science Fiction: The Movie
Now that the fuss over Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith has died down, it is probably safe for me to venture a few thoughts on the matter. Let me point out right away that I have not seen the movie so this will not be a…
Factory Tales 1
My last two posts were somewhat of a departure for this blog, being only a day or so short of being topical. To return to business as usual, I needed to put up something today to hide Gone Away's flouting of stated…
The Other Italian
Yesterday I wrote of the ridiculous affair of the Indianapolis Grand Prix. Realizing that this put my favorite sport in a very unkind light, I promised John, who commented on my post, that today I would adjust the…
The Indianapolis Grand Farce
It is not in the nature of this blog that I write of topical matters, at least until they have been consigned to the collective memory we call history. But over the weekend an event occurred that affects one of my minor…
Joe the Giant
For many years I worked with kids between the ages of 14 and 16 who had been excluded from school. In That Kid With Red Hair I wrote of one of our pupils who surprised me with his success after completing the program.…
A Blogger's Lament
I admire those who retain a sensible perspective on blogging. By that I mean the bloggers who post when they have something to say and otherwise live ordinary lives that do not depend upon the blog. How wonderful it…
Gecko
The short story, Svengali Comes Clean , that I wrote a few days ago, was a reflection on the manipulation people practice upon each other. It was also the occasion of my discovery of the character named Gecko. This was…
Talking ‘Bout My G-G-Generation
When it comes to the latest thing, that's exactly what I always seem to be - late. Digital watches came out in the early seventies; I held doggedly to my old analog for years, swearing that it was better than any…
Advertise <em>That</em>!
(This article forms part of the Journal that I am writing to describe my impressions of America since arrival in September, 2004. To begin reading this Journal from the beginning, click here .) I have said before that I…
Woodcuts
Just occasionally I do a post on art. In Art I tried to describe what art is, in A Painting Blog I described a painting that I came across during my visit to Vicksburg, and in Lawton Arts Festival I gave a brief review…
Svengali Comes Clean
"So when is the fame and fortune to arrive?" Trilby asked the question quite bluntly as she removed the stage make-up from her face, staring intently into the bright mirror. She did not need to turn and watch Svengali's…
A Place Apart
As this blog has grown, I have found it necessary to categorize the various subjects that I write about, if only for my own convenience. At some time in the future I intend to introduce these categories into the…
A Mad Post
I have been reading a lot about the history of blogging just lately and it has made me realize that I am pretty fortunate to have entered the game in the way that I did. The fact that the blog rides upon my son's…
The Most Beautiful Place...
(This is one of a series of articles I wrote dealing with memories of an African childhood. To read the first of these, click here ) For ten years I lived in one of the most beautiful spots on earth. There are plenty of…
The Pressure of the Blog
A couple of months ago I was trying to produce a post a day for this blog. I kept it up for a while but eventually it became too much; I was exhausted, empty and unable to think coherently. Fortunately, a planned trip…
Heroes
I admit that most of my time these days is spent on the computer, writing, communicating with others, tinkering with the blog and plotting the expansion of blog readership. As a result, I am slowly beginning to forget…
The Goodbye Drive
"It'll never happen," declared Arnold decisively, setting down his drained beer glass with finality. "The distances are too great and we can never develop a drive fast enough." Dan shrugged as though it mattered not to…