A Myth that Guided Christl’s Life The story of Baucis and Philemon As a girl, Christl read. Books became her escape from the rubble of bombed-out Vienna after World War II and from the bombed-out psyches of the adults around her. …

Annotated examples of narration, exposition, definition, classification, description, process analysis, and persuasion. — by Gerald Grow When people use language, they don’t reinvent it every time they want to say something. They use certain recurring forms of communication. These forms work because both the speaker and the listener understand how to use them as a way of thinking. …

Build your day around the rhythms of the day. Forget clock-time, and make time to respond to what the day presents you. The greatest symphony in the world happens as the pre-dawn light rises into day and the sun comes up to the songs of birds. …

Christl took this picture, but never saw it — This is a story about grieving. Grieving and celebrating. Christl, my wife of 42 years, died of pancreatic cancer, at home, three weeks after she was diagnosed, refused treatment, and went into hospice care to die on her own terms. One day, eleven months later, I spent many hours looking…