Category: Writings

The referral is simple enough; “Evaluate and treat for knee pain, 3 times a week for 4 weeks.” Heck, that’s a money-maker. And I should be grateful that I don’t have to worry about following any specific protocol that the doctor prefers and isn’t interested in discussing with me. I know in fact that this doctor doesn’t really have a… Read more →

Cindy came to see me last week because her father’s cousin is married to my son’s soccer coach. I can’t always trace the path people take to my office, but, as in this case, it is often best described as a series of misunderstandings and coincidences. Since a fairly mild car accident over a month ago, Cindy has had a… Read more →

I came through Ohio State at the peak of Woody Hayes’ career and although I feel it really shouldn’t be necessary, I guess I should explain that he was their football coach. Anyway, the Buckeyes had a string of fine teams known for a grinding ground game that was fundamental, predictable and largely unstoppable. When asked why he didn’t pass… Read more →

Journal Entry, Nov. 15, ’96: Last night a vivid dream of being in a restaurant, watching Dad seating people, and Mom behind a large grill, having walked over there from the oven where she was baking pies. Dad is watchful, making sure Mom’s okay. I feel contentment, safety, and at home. I really would like to lead a simple, quiet… Read more →

In the classic fantasy A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin (Bantam 1968) there is described a world where everything including the people have two names; a use name, and a true name. The use names are known to everybody and are simply a part of the common language. The true names are unrelated phonetically to those commonly used… Read more →

There is a three line poem by Nobel laureate Octavio Paz entitled “Boy and Top” that I often recite to my students; Each time he spins it, it lands precisely, at the center of the world. I take a few moments at this point to ask them what the poet knows and how he knows it. Of course, no matter… Read more →

I live near the banks of the Cuyahoga River which runs north from here, through Cleveland, where it empties into Lake Erie. It was immortalized by Randy Newman in his song “Burn on Big River,” referring to an unfortunate incident involving some pollution and a match back in the sixties. Actually, it caught fire twice back then. In my small… Read more →

“The Cuyahoga River Goes smokin’ through my dreams … Now the Lord can make you tumble And the Lord can make you turn And the Lord can make you overflow But the Lord can’t make you burn Burn on, big river, burn on” Randy Newman on “Sail Away” 1972 I wrote in Part I of this piece that rivers and… Read more →

“Come and listen to my story ’bout a man named Jed…” In the U.S., it is not possible to say these words without a certain rhythm and tune. This is how the legendary country western duo of Flatt and Scruggs began each episode of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” a popular weekly T.V. series from the late sixties that continues in re-runs… Read more →

There’s a giant dictionary in the library here in Cuyahoga Falls, and sometimes I go there to find out what a word really means. This book is so big that it stands open on its own little table, saving patrons from the dangerous task of tipping it from a shelf. I’m personally a big, strong Slovak, but even I appreciate… Read more →