MindWindow

A lure is used to attract something… usually a fish... only sometimes we humans are just as easily trapped by a shiny bit of metal... or the promise of one…  My Preciousss!!! This comes out of nowhere… the above initial sentence was written sometime ago and I don’t really even remember how long ago. I sit here and, in continuing the writing, look to find a way to follow up on it and to make it into something that could, perhaps, be posted. Perhaps the only reason I try, is the bit reference to Gollum’s ( Lord of The Rings ) cry about his “Preciousss”… his shiny ring. As I was hooked on Tolkien’s stories some 40 years ago, the general philosophy expounded in these as well as in other stories of the Fantasy genre was and continues to be the eternal struggle between Good and Evil. How we, as human beings, manage to take many issues and turn them into unnecessary warring fields, with the attending casualties. Then, there is always the “good” human, who manages to elevate his/he...

On Mondays, a new week usually starts… (except for those souls for whom it begins on a Sunday ) and with this start all the “nasties” forgotten and/or ignored over the weekend come back with, it seems, renewed vim and vigor ( I don’t know about the first word, but these two always seem to go together ) to make their presence felt … On one such late Monday afternoon, several years ago and after having spent most of the day trying hard to reconcile just plain wishin’ with reality (and not very successfully ) I sat in front of a window, overlooking a vast expanse of modern day city. Then, I lived in an apartment building and was occupying a small apartment on a high floor. Allowing me to enjoy this view was actually the saving grace for that particular four walled, somewhat claustrophobic enclosure.  I was alone, living through one of those periods known in the life trade as “in-betweeners” and it was quiet… perhaps more than what I would have liked it to be… then again, aft...

No… this is not about Tarzan, nor Jane of the Jungle… not even about Cheetah, their faithful companion who actually outlived them all by many decades, dying just a couple of years ago in Florida. As any self respecting retiree would … He (it?) had gone to live out his days there. Sometimes, during the course of any given day, any one, no one in particular and most everyone, will come across a difficult moment that forces reflection on that little ditty up there on the title bar. Lately, during the span of the last 2 years or so, we have been reminded –not too subtly- about the real dangers of having lunatics running around with access to high powered weapons. I mean… you don’t really need an assault weapon used by SWAT and Special Forces teams in order to rid your home of cockroaches or mice… no matter how big you tell me they might be. The last (so far) in this chain of morbid, sad and downright horrendous happenings came to be at a school in Sandy Hook, CT, some 3 months ag...

This plaintive call came not from a newly made American friend, but from a new generation Cuban immigrant. A young lady of some 26 years of age, who had come from the island 2 years before this request was made. We met when she came in as an English student and was placed into one of my classes. A usual repartee took place the very first day… -“¿Oiga... Usted es de Cuba?”  … “Are you from Cuba?” - “Sí, soy Cubano”… “Yes, I am Cuban born” - “But you don’t look Cuban… and you don’t sound Cuban…” At 6’2” and with an amalgamated accent which comes from over two million miles of business travel as well as several years of living and/or working in different parts of the world, this is a comment which is often heard, so I was not very surprised when she made it… One day she remained after class for a while, and asked some questions regarding the topic of the day. After I answered her she kind of hemmed and hawed and I asked… - “What’s up Barbara?”( as common a na...

A political dissident is someone who, while living within a restricted environment, has the character and strength to voice discontent and to demand changes to that system. Often at the peril of personal safety and even his or her life. A while back and no doubt fueled by growing international political pressure, the Cuban government actually allowed the well known blogger Yoani Sanches to leave Cuba; a freedom to travel she had not been permitted despite her several prior attempts to get permission to visit abroad. She had been invited over the last few years to visit different venues in order to receive well earned prizes for her home spun and somewhat clandestine cybernetic journalism. We, along with a huge number of people around the world, have been able to follow her day to day routines within the island of Cuba; first as a citizen who must deal with all the frustrations of living in a lacking environment and second and, perhaps more importantly, as someone who has the ...

Sometimes, sharing with others a burning issue will bring the best out of us… at other times, not so. Note: Neither a cold cup of coffee nor the smell of stale cigarette smoke evoke great desire. I wonder if a cold paragraph is the same? This following par. has been waiting for the “rest of the story” for about two weeks. Every time I sit and try to complete whatever may come to mind, something else comes to the fore and takes me away… one more try and we shall see what gives…   The title of this particular little piece was brought on as a result of an eye exam, dilated pupils and all. It had been some 3 years since my last such exam and my “head” doctor ( no, not one of those… maybe I’ll soon need one, but not yet ) decided that it was time to add this little process to all other exams I had undergone in the last 3 months. Luckily, all said and done, it seems my eyes are in good order except that part which allows me to read up close and to work at the computer without the...