Solace in a Book

When and what to declare

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The Fourth of July made me think about our nation’s Declaration of Independence, a declaration made while the Colonies were already at war, a war they fought for some six years longer. Our founders declared independence and then worked to make it happen. I thought I would write a post on how we all declare our patriotism on the Fourth. It comes as easy as wearing red, white and blue or waving the flag.  Politicians especially want to be thought patriotic. But how can we … [Read more...]

Glimpse of Solace: Daniel Cleary

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  Daniel Cleary was born in Tipperary Town, Ireland and grew up there, and lived for a few years in London, England, before moving to Chicago in 1968. His first passion was painting, but he always loved poetry; “though I never considered myself a writer.” He has two books: The Green Ribbon (Wyndham Hall Press) and Elegy for James Gerard and Other Poems for the Larger Voice (Fractal Edge Press). If you’d like to see Daniel’s paintings, check out his website. I … [Read more...]

Yes, let’s

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Happy June 29th –hope your summer is going well so far. Here in Chicago I know it’s summer because the weeds are taking off and the skeeters are back.  And it’s the season of the Cancer birthdays. Meanwhile this must be a bumper crop year for the cottonwood trees because the infernal cotton is still blowing around. My friend Rochelle Distelheim (whose story "The Kiss-Me-Quick" appeared here in January) has a story "Talking About the Tango"  posted June 25, 2014  in Ascent, … [Read more...]

Slice of Solace: Seth Godin

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“But it is possible to become important to a very-small everyone, to a connected tribe that cares about this voice or that story or this particular point of view. It's still possible to become meaningful, meaningful if you don't get short-term greedy about any particular moment of mass, betting on the long run instead.”     By Seth Godin is his June 18, 2014 post “In Search of Meaningful” … [Read more...]