tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92128392012-01-26T13:21:21.188-08:00Live Fully Now. A way of life on a whole new planet.Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1140979982990881662006-02-26T10:53:00.000-08:002006-02-26T10:53:04.860-08:00

The ChasmIt’s not even long-distanceIt’s just a couple of milesThat separates our beating heartsTen digits we must dialLike a chasm lies between usA depression deep and wideForbids a bridge across be builtI know because I’ve triedI hearken back to days beforeWhen we stood side by sideYou touched my soul, inspired my museGave purpose to my strideOn days my life was darkestWhen survival was in

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1138230813686524102006-01-25T15:13:00.000-08:002006-01-25T15:13:33.736-08:00

Sunday’s Parade magazine’s cover story asked and answered the question, “Who is the world’s worst dictator?” The author listed the  top 10 men and justified each selection with a description of the horrible conditions their countries were in. The clear implication was that these deplorable conditions occurred because the country was run by a dictator, and in particular, this one. Dictatorial rule

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1137971080363968042006-01-22T15:04:00.000-08:002006-01-22T15:04:40.416-08:00

How do you know when to toss somebody from your life and move on?I suppose just asking the question begs the answer:  Now! “If you have to ask…” And in the case of my most recent girlfriend, it’s pretty much moot, since I’ve already been tossed out like so much excess plastic packaging. Nevertheless, I’m still interested in the question from a more general perspective – let’s say, for future

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1136851479704034862006-01-09T16:04:00.000-08:002006-01-09T20:04:59.436-08:00

Breaking up is hard to do, the song goes, but what’s really hard is, getting over breaking up with someone. Even when it’s clear, in retrospect, that the relationship really wasn’t right.And I knew it wasn’t, even when we were in the midst of it – at least at times. The three-hour drive each weekend – and her refusal to make the drive herself, meaning I had to go there most of the time. Which

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1136184846763707492006-01-01T22:54:00.000-08:002006-01-01T22:54:06.763-08:00

What if Mr. Potter had never lived?In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey is rescued from suicide by the angel Clarence and given the opportunity to see how his humble town, Bedford Falls, and all of the people he loved would be different had he never been born. George is a generous, decent, albeit frustrated man, trapped by circumstances and conscience in a place much smaller than his

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1134499937468730242005-12-13T10:52:00.000-08:002005-12-13T10:52:17.470-08:00

My dad hates snow. Passionately. Whenever he tells stories about his boyhood in Maine, “the asshole of the earth” in his opinion, invariably he includes a rant about how deep the snow got, how they’d have to dig out from the house through six-foot drifts (they grew to ten feet in the retelling) just to use the outhouse out back. “And it wasn’t heated,” he would add, as if we couldn’t have

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1134499677909943952005-12-13T10:47:00.000-08:002005-12-13T10:47:57.923-08:00

Exposing a new girlfriend to my family would be fraught with risk even in the best of times. We Corbins are intimidating, both singly and in a group, but most importantly, en masse: all of the in-laws say so, and they should know.First there are the sheer numbers. I am seventh of nine, and the other eight are all married with children, some with grandchildren. A family reunion now of only my

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1134493458591103502005-12-13T09:03:00.000-08:002005-12-13T09:04:53.750-08:00

Today marks two weeks here in frigid western Massachusetts. How things have changed. How they have stayed the same!The biggest change is in my dad's condition. Two weeks ago he was barely clinging to life, slept most of the day in a drug-addled haze, and spent his few waking hours taking more meds or coughing until he puked up blood. Today, like many of his recent days, he is up and about,

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1133762884215491212005-12-04T22:05:00.000-08:002005-12-05T08:40:19.653-08:00

I’ve spent the last several nights providing hospice care to my terminally ill father. It has been a trial by fire and has proved both more and less difficult than expected.The easy part was learning the routine. That was surprising because on its face the “routine” is anything but. Six different treatments occur on independent intervals (4-hour, 6-hour, and “as needed”) and change every few days

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1133236552724431332005-11-28T19:54:00.000-08:002005-11-28T19:55:52.760-08:00

News from the home front is that my wonderful dad is not long for this world. Terminal with cancer, he's fought it off 12 months longer than the 9 months they gave him a year ago last spring. But even he is not immortal, and in the twilight of his fight to survive, I am reminded of the words of the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.And now, to share them with you again as well.DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1120024764284596562005-06-28T22:27:00.000-07:002005-06-28T22:59:24.290-07:00

I have had the most bizarre entanglements with our good City's HR department this week. It defies credulity. But I swear, this really happened.The City laid me off a month ago, effective June 30. But they (somebody, somewhere) screwed up and they laid me off wrong. In effect they gave me incorrect information about my status, rights, and options, and so they had to lay me off - from the same job

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1120022846614813682005-06-28T22:26:00.000-07:002005-06-28T22:27:26.616-07:00

From Brezny to me and all my fellow Scorpions: SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Introducing Adrienne Rich at a poetry reading in San Francisco in 2004, Frances Phillips turned to her and said, "Thank you for your lovely, irreverent, unsettled, curious mind." It was a fitting tribute to a poet who for 50 years has stirred up good trouble with her rowdy yet disciplined work. By the end of this week,

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1119329873038078052005-06-20T21:56:00.000-07:002005-06-20T21:57:53.043-07:00

A Realist is a person who is looking backward.

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1118799279911695122005-06-14T18:33:00.000-07:002005-06-14T18:35:27.270-07:00

Check it out.http://www.highlysensitivesouls.com/blog/?p=22

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1118186387220389942005-06-07T16:02:00.000-07:002005-06-07T16:19:47.223-07:00

What once was a dream is now coming true. Each day falls like another domino: fragile, unsteady, insignificant hurdles, doing nothing except waiting to be swept away, leaving a clean slate for the expression of new creative passions. Soon the blank pages and empty screens will be my mind's bed - white sheets waiting to hold newly invented sweaty bodies clutching together with hope, love, lust,

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1107289196881685962005-02-01T13:18:00.000-08:002005-02-13T11:34:47.920-08:00

Natural, unprocessed, whole foods only, with some exceptions, such as Cheezits.No telemarketing.No homework.While on vacation, no working. Watches must be removed and cell phones turned off. Exceptions: family illness or emergencies.No family illness or emergencies.Teachers get paid six figures. Special ed teachers, more. If a little kid asks you to read a book, drop whatever you are doing, and

closetrenegadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01343874862369241013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1107243238161009122005-01-31T23:33:00.000-08:002005-02-15T16:23:31.766-08:00

No time zonesNo spandexNo lyingNo hidingNo bullshitNo republicans (yeah, some are worse than others, but its OUR planet so we may as well just set the limit)No wimpy coffeeNo wimpy beerNo wimpy wineNo wine coolers, ever Garlic and olive oil with good bread are encouraged. Big breakfasts on Sundays. Whatever you do, do it with intensity. If you love someone, you HAVE to tell them. You have to

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9212839.post-1103827413349324782005-01-31T10:20:00.000-08:002005-03-04T09:54:31.340-08:00

I've done 103 - just over half - as of this posting. How about you?01. Bought everyone in the pub a drink02. Swam with wild dolphins03. Climbed a mountain04. Driven a car worth more than $100,00005. Been inside the Great Pyramid06. Held a tarantula07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it09. Hugged a tree10. Done a striptease11. Bungee jumped12. Visited Paris13.

Portermakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18430419699103150121noreply@blogger.com0