The Transforming Power of Great Sorrow
At Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, there is a magnificent statue of the Virgin Mary cradling her dead son, Jesus. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was twenty-three years old when he carved La Pietà from a single, perfect block of Carrara…
Longing for Being
I longed to get away. I yearned to get in the car and drive up into the Adirondacks or maybe the Berkshires. I wasn’t longing for a particular destination—some little town with a view of the mountains that was good…
The Unanswered Question
The gold dagger letter-opener in the red leather sheath. The stacks of Agatha Christie novels, every page thumbed over. The broken orange umbrella with the chiffon ruffled edges. The framed mirror on the mantle. The back door with the coarsened…
Lament and Praise for the Earth
This blue and white orb that Voyager spacecraft revealed, shimmering like a jewel among the vast dark bands of space, this planet that’s been greening for five-hundred-million years, this tumult of ingenuity, this bed of desire, mass of ambitions, playing…
Searching for Private Driscoll
Bellaire, Texas, 1968 “Come on, Mac. Put your gear in your bag and we’ll drive you over there. His family knows you’re coming and they’re waiting.” Even though shot in the ass last year, Ron still played Boy Scout with…
