Outside our apartment door, hanging on the mantle beside at eye level, is a magnet that reads: “A lovely lady and a grumpy old man live here”. As I type these words, I am reminded of an old TV series I watched as a youth growing up in the isolated village of St. Philippe d’Argenteuil.… Continue reading No fool like an old fool
Tag: philosophy
Down and out across Switzerland
Zürich Hauptbahnhof, yesterday. Clean-shaven, showered, red backpack from Canada on one shoulder, pulling a new suitcase along on its smoothly running wheels and extendable handle, clean white short sleeved shirt, blue jeans, black leather shoes. Not your image of a homeless man? I approached the station´s Bahnhofshilfe (train station assistance) office and inquired if the lady… Continue reading Down and out across Switzerland
The glory departed
Every time I read about English King Henry VIII I have great difficulty feeling sympathy towards the man, a lustful harsh egotistical king who married six times for the purpose of securing a male heir to the throne, severed England from the Roman Catholic Church and dissolved monasteries for financial gain. To be fair, there… Continue reading The glory departed
A sense of accomplishment (my favourite SOB)
I know that I am probably not alone in this – “Why can´t you be more like (Insert name here.)?” – situation. I am certain that there are, or have been, people in your life who seem to shine brighter than those around them. They radiate success, confidence, achievement and accomplishment, and are the envy of… Continue reading A sense of accomplishment (my favourite SOB)
The Church of Woman
If I were a cynical person (in my moments of semi-lucidity), there would be moments wherein I would think that women have the greatest con going on in existence with men being the sheep being fleeced. A man is a human being who works. He is given little or no choice in the matter. Any… Continue reading The Church of Woman
The Memory Music Project
“I spent a large part of one of the evenings I was in Uganda thinking about what precisely the memory of a person is. What do I want people to remember about me? What would I prefer to have suppressed? Do I have a number of secrets that I shall take with me to the… Continue reading The Memory Music Project
The magic of serendipity
Yesterday, 20 May 2015, I decided to visit Geneva for the first time. I also tried an experiment in travel I had never attempted before… Travelling without a guidebook. To be fair, guidebooks are written and published by people who are passionate about the destination and are only trying to be helpful, but the problem… Continue reading The magic of serendipity
Learned ignorance
Finally I have reached the last tale I wish to tell about our Mosel weekend of 14 – 17 May 2015. (Which is good, because my trip to Geneva yesterday… So much to tell!) Our (my wife and I) last stop on our Mosel mini-adventure was the town of Bernkastel-Kues. The twin town of Bernkastel-Kues… Continue reading Learned ignorance
La Vie en Rose
Of the 1,000 plus books, CDs and movies I have amassed as my own private library over the past 15 years, I estimate that at least 10% of my collection is devoted to biographies. I love to learn about other people, not because I am looking for tips to become rich and famous, but I am curious about how they… Continue reading La Vie en Rose
Buddha by the Mosel
As my family sadly observes, and as religious friends of mine sadly shake their heads at my obvious heathen ways, I am not a devotee to any religion or faith, with perhaps a leaning towards humanism. This does not mean though that I do not seek to understand why religion is important to others. Of… Continue reading Buddha by the Mosel