How do you say goodbye to a drunk who didn’t get it? How do you pay proper respect to a man whose life seems to have been devoted to telling lies and manufacturing more lies to provide evidence for the first round? How do you miss a man whose corpse you discovered 10 months ago, … Continue reading A Vietnam Veterans Death–“And of the dead, speak only truth”
Month: October 2017
“My name is Keith and I live in . . . a tiny house.”
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about “a phrase that will not pass my lips.” You might guess that phrase was, “Boy, Joe Stalin over in Russia sure was a good guy.” You might think that phrase might be “Sure, I’d love a hot lead enema.” You might even imagine that phrase … Continue reading “My name is Keith and I live in . . . a tiny house.”
A Scientific Theology of Lucky Pennies
This morning, Sam (is a dog) and I went out for our usual walk—three or four miles through the forest, sheets of orange arranged on us to ward off stray shot from bird hunters and arrows from would be deer slayers. During the plague years, folk wisdom suggested certain amulets would keep away the Black … Continue reading A Scientific Theology of Lucky Pennies
Thoughts on Depression
Like many Americans, I live with depression. Abraham Lincoln referred to the “Black Dog” that visited him. For me, when depression moves in, it’s more like a miasma, a thick fog smelling of mildew and tasting of aspirin. This internal meteorology is almost never related to any external factor. I mean, if I’m feeling blue … Continue reading Thoughts on Depression
Readers’ Mailbag–Send Questions to keithhoward@gmail.com
What’s a typical morning like for you in the Tiny White Box in the Great North Woods? I will answer your question, but first, isn’t language amazing? Your sentence ends with two prepositional phrases in a row, yet we could go on adding like phrases forever and the sentence would still be correct and … Continue reading Readers’ Mailbag–Send Questions to keithhoward@gmail.com
No “Program.” No “Groups.” No “Therapy.” Warriors@45 North
For most of my life, I’ve lived where I live because of a what or a who or a why. I lived in Durham, NH, for the first 17 years of my life because that’s where my mom and dad lived. While I could have fought for emancipation, I suppose, it seemed easier to complain … Continue reading No “Program.” No “Groups.” No “Therapy.” Warriors@45 North
Brief Columbus Day Report from the Tiny White Box
Columbus Day in the Tiny White Box in New Hampshire’s Great North Woods, a few miles from Canada, is, to my mind, supposed to be cold, windy and clear, visibility increased because most of the leaves have been blown off. Not that more evidence was needed, but apparently my mind doesn’t work right. Today is … Continue reading Brief Columbus Day Report from the Tiny White Box
Inductive Archaeologists and Shaun of the Dead
Archaeology has to work with the stuff that gets found. For instance, much of what we know about Roman Britain isn’t based on written records left lying around for 1600 years, it’s conjecture drawn from types of pottery and crockery exhumed from the earth. It’s all a matter of inductive reasoning—drawing conclusions from isolated bits … Continue reading Inductive Archaeologists and Shaun of the Dead
Tiny White Box Profiled in Vagabond Monthly–Libel Suit to Follow
I’ve always wanted to be interviewed by Rolling Stone, the New Yorker or, even, Foreign Affairs Quarterly. (In this last, I’d hoped to outline my vision for a future Myanmar that would begin with changing its name to WeUsedtobeBurma.) Instead, the home I live in is now featured in another, less well-known magazine—Vagabond Monthly: The … Continue reading Tiny White Box Profiled in Vagabond Monthly–Libel Suit to Follow
Tonio K to Walker Percy to Ashes to Ashes to Dust to Dust
It’s a great big goofy world, and the internet can only multiply that. The other day, I wrote a column about my funeral (plans for, not reporting from), including a song I wanted to have played, “We Walk On” by Tonio K. On a whim, I posted a link to it on a Tonio K. … Continue reading Tonio K to Walker Percy to Ashes to Ashes to Dust to Dust
