Divagating

DIVAGATING

By Gwen S. Clarke A ROUND-TRIP TICKET TO PIDDLETRENTHIDE The wee village of Piddletrenthide, in the south of England, has much to recommend It, in addition to its memorable, if slightly quirky name. It's within easy reach of Stonehenge, the English Channel, and Maiden Castle (which isn't exactly what we...

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DIVAGATING

By Gwen S. Clarke REMEMBERING HOW TO LAUGH If the evening television news is any measuring stick, there's not much to laugh at these days. Or, is there? Going out to the porch the other night to bid “Buenos noches” to Boots, the wonder cat, all that was on my mind...

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DIVAGATING

REMEMBERING HOW TO LAUGH By Gwen S. Clarke If the evening television news is any measuring stick, there's not much to laugh at these days. Or, is there? Going out to the porch the other night to bid “Buenos noches” to Boots, the wonder cat, all that was on my...

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LESSONS LEARNED WHILE NOT PAYING ATTENTION

By Gwen S. Clarke The other day, as I batted out of the house for a morning appointment (memo to self: try to stick to afternoon scheduling), I glanced around at the chaos in my wake. In my mind's ear, I could hear my Grandma Kiefer saying, “It looks like...

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Divagating: Baseball And The Armchair Fan

by Gwen S. Clarke I just finished reading a feature in a regional newspaper by a sportswriter who loves covering baseball, and whose writing resonates with his passion for the sport. Still in the thrall of the recent College World Series, I am wallowing in my innate love of baseball...

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Divagating: So Many Books…….

By Gwen Clarke With the process of aging, time seems to acquire more value. Witness sayings like: “So many books, so little time”. “Life's too short to ... (fill in the blank).” The former is one reason I rarely reread a book, especially since I was gifted with a reader's...

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Divagating: A potato chip for the harried mind

By Gwen S. Clarke That Etch-a-Sketch under our Christmas tree with its disarray of metal filings is the perfect metaphor for my head at holiday time. Is it the chaos of four generations under one roof, with an age span of more than eight decades? Throw in a precious great-granddog,...

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Armchair entertainment

Divagating by Gwen S. Clarke A widely-read newspaper columnist recently touched on a point that keeps hitting me between the eyes. In pontificating about Americans' habits, he remarked that the country “is entertaining itself into inanimation.” An apt observation in light of the current stampede to possess a new $20...

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Living up to my epitaph

DIVAGATING by Gwen Clarke Who among us hasn't grown up hearing authority figures say: Try it, you don't know what you're missing!!! Whether it's some unidentified pod-shaped vegetable, a diving board higher than the childish imagination can fathom, or worse, an oily concoction with reputed curative powers, those words have...

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Armchair Camping

By Gwen S. Clarke Not an oxymoron—like “giant shrimp”, “alone together” or “random order”—armchair camping gains more appeal, the older one gets. In truth, reading about camping has charms that eclipse the experience itself, even the kind with comfortable beds and running water. Take the case of the book that...

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