April 5th, 2023

I wish everyone happy and fruitful holidays this

week, whether you celebrate Passover or Easter.

 

Can you think of one word you like so interesting that you want to use it almost every day, every few hours? No? How about one you detest, one you never want to use? Why? Think about it for a minute. Do the words you enjoy sound soft and flow easily off your tongue? Do those you don’t like sound harsh and seem to scratch as you speak? I found an article about this subject entitled

Why People Hate or Love the Sound of Certain Words. Is there a connection between sound and meaning?

Morten H. Christiansen and Nick Chater present the article. Look it up if you are so inclined. I read it to the group and watched some interesting facial expressions.

 

We had a small group again this week. After all, it’s the tail-end of our winter season. Many of our attendees return to their homes in the north for summer. We wish you a pleasant summer and look forward to seeing you in the fall. 

With such a small group this time (only seven), we could read and discuss each piece at greater length.

 

This evening, Ernie Ovtiz read Chapter 52 of the third book in his upcoming trilogy. It’s December of 324 Ad, and the celebration of Saturnalia is beginning. Even though Constantine accepts the Christian ideals, he allows the festival to continue. As the party becomes more lively and the wine flows more freely, Crispus talks with a friend who attempts to direct his attention toward a beautiful woman, Drucilla. Though Crispus is married and tries not to pay attention to the woman, her charms are overwhelming. Constantine looks on with disapproval.

 

Do you think time travel is possible? I don’t know if it ever will or has been, but somehow it might be. It is in Don Westerfield’s story, The Man Who Knew Tomorrow. On March Eighth, 2012, Leonard Ward disappeared after an accident at the Atomic Collider in Illinois. Nobody knows what happened to him. He was just gone, along with his favorite book, a volume of U.S. History printed in 2011. Leonard was confused and disorientated when he woke up in a cornfield in the countryside. Where was he? – When was he?

 

Watching from my window as I think about what I’m about to write, I see a beautiful yellow butterfly flitter past. It stops to drink nectar from an equally beautiful yellow flower. I think, is that a Sulpher? I don’t know, but Scott Anderson would. Scott’s article about the Gulf Flitarary entitled Fritiraries and Frahittas gives us a human perspective on butterfly enthusiasts. What could be better than starting the day enjoying a walk in the woods observing and counting butterflies and breakfast in a homey diner?

 

The world is constantly changing. The ancient Greeks believed in a Goddess who protected the earth, Gaia. That name came to be what they called the planet as well. Bruce Haedrich is a privileged human who listens to Gaia as she explains her history and future. As humankind populates and exploits Gaia, she watches us waste resources and damage our environment. One can detect a grin of knowledge behind her grimace of pain as she knows our time here is but a few seconds in the history of Gaia’s existence. All wounds will heal even as new ones appear. Hundreds of millions of years from now, Gaia may search for a new sun as our sun fades.

 

Well – that’s all for this writing. If I missed something, let me know, and I’ll fix it. Until then, KEEP ON WRITING my friends.