Life Escaping

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Monday April 18, 2011 · 10:18 PM PDT

2011/04/18 · 22:18

From the first seconds we are granted; life is escaping. It races out ahead, leaving us behind. Unguided and uncertain, we heedlessly go forward, hot on the heels of life escaping. No sooner do our bones firm up within us, than they begin to diminish and soften again. Organs grow to perfect proportions just so their symmetry can fail. Hardly a moment of beauty enjoyed before the decay begins. Supple flesh, vital muscle, a fleeting spectacle worthy of each tear shed in its honor, enraptured gaze cast in its direction, and full-throated rendition of any love song ever written. By the nature of being we exist this way; our entire lives consumed in spinning velocity. Nothing touched can be held, nothing witnessed can persist, and it is because of this that every impossible atom of existence is immeasurably valuable, and every instant of it should be adored and embraced most passionately.

epjmcginley

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Sunday April 03, 2011 · 1:17 PM PDT

2011/04/03 · 13:17

Some may find themselves ready to complain about the endless supply of rain descending from on high, but I find myself all the more grateful than I might otherwise be for the fact that the humidity is up and the temperature is down and the water precipitates out of heavy clouds ceaselessly. This may lead my readers to wonder just what it is about the dripping and plopping and rat-a-tat-tat that comforts and encourages me through what should be a warming and drying period of Spring. Well, for one, my future depends on the fate of thousands of stiff, little cuttings plunged into soil filled pots and assembled carefully in rows neatly aligned on black landscape fabric out in the nursery at Sound Native Plants.

epjmcginley

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Sunday February 20, 2011 · 6:38 PM PST

2011/02/20 · 18:38

One never knows what catastrophe has been averted by a little inconvenience, or so I like to tell myself. Of course, one can similarly never know which small disruption has affected the outcome favorably, and which was simply an unnecessary dalliance, but I like to imagine that every distraction has bound up in it the potential to avert a greater disaster. It is in this way that I continually comfort myself and encourage myself to carry on in spite of the way the universe resists my sincere efforts. It is also common for me to find myself pleasantly surprised when friction gives way to smooth operation, and things finally move along as I hoped they would. Invariably, this sensation of unencumbered motion is accompanied by some degree of apprehension, wondering just what calamity I will not be spared this time.

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Beauty

epjmcginley

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Thursday January 27, 2011 · 9:11 PM PST

2011/01/27 · 21:11

Some color has reappeared in the sky after what has been a rather short and mild period of winter. The blue hue beneath the violet and red a radical, bordering on impossible departure from the norm. Heavy gray slate still pressed down upon it, somehow lifted on shoulders of white light. The sun itself made an appearance, to groans of pleasure and sighs of relief. Fog that hung stubbornly until after noon, reluctantly gave way to the brilliant star, if just for a couple hours. Even warmth joined the transformation, and the smell of a distant spring could almost be detected. All a matter of perspective I suppose, but sometimes the slightest glimmer on the horizon can upend the short grim reality of existence.

epjmcginley

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Monday December 27, 2010 · 11:46 AM PST

2010/12/27 · 11:46

The world is so dark, that gray is the brightest color the sky achieves in a day, and the sun is hardly visible above the hills to the south when it is at its shallow apex. The air hangs heavy with rain, clouds of it driven into sheets and waves. The wind occasionally building, then sustaining, then relenting for a bit before returning and gripping the trees mercilessly again, twisting their limbs, testing the strength of their roots. The sound ever more comforting, in spite of the evidence all around that not every branch or even tree itself will withstand the next gust.

epjmcginley

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Wednesday December 22, 2010 · 6:34 PM PST

2010/12/22 · 18:34

Down in the lowlands around Mud Bay, right up close to its murky edge, there is a roadhouse. It sits near an off ramp of Hwy. 101. Perched above the salt water of the sound, it goes by the name of Buzz's Tavern. McLane Creek flows over flat terrain from the northerly reaches of the rolling Black Hills to the south. Small valleys and ravines are carved by rain drawn out of warm air rising from the Pacific. In winter it is a dark place, the translucent glow of dense cover interrupted infrequently by brilliant silver sunshine, beaming out of a bit of blue sky. More often low gray clouds hang within reach, as if an extended finger tip might touch them, retrieving a droplet of dew. A day here is the short period of filtered light before a dusky hue glows and night falls.

epjmcginley

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Saturday December 18, 2010 · 8:26 PM PST

2010/12/18 · 20:26

Today I climbed back up the course of my favorite creek, in the rain and in the fog. The water had gone down some, but it was still nice and full and there were plenty of brand new features to remind me where it had been. This short run originates about one thousand feet above sea level, and collects in a marsh at or just below it. Then, by some less detectable route, it finds its way to Mud Bay, likely via the larger McLane Creek.

Years ago now, an incredible amount of rain fell on top of a few inches of rapidly melting snow. When the soil became too saturated, a swath of angled earth gave way, and carved a wide, meandering avenue for my dogs and me to follow up into these hills. There are many spots along the way that I had discovered before the event occurred, little nooks and grottoes beneath old Yew trees. At the time they were hidden in deep green forest, and it had taken me hours of brush whacking to find them. Now I walk by as if they were quaint little shops lining a wide promenade. I have decide this is a blessing, as it grants me access to many more secret paradises further up into places I would otherwise never go.

epjmcginley

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Sunday December 12, 2010 · 2:36 PM PST

2010/12/12 · 14:36

The rain falls heavily on the land around the Salish Sea. It collects in pools and runs down ditches. It flows over the low parts of the roads, where a stony creek might have cut a path one hundred years ago. Now the pavement lays in belts across the neat terrain, culverts buried underneath, bridges where the water flows more vigorously at times. The cow fields begin to look like the wetlands they'd rather be. The creeks impersonate rivers and the rivers raging torrents bent on changing course; straightening where gentle curves and elaborate twists have been the rule.

epjmcginley

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Friday December 10, 2010 · 8:53 PM PST

2010/12/10 · 20:53

I care for my fellow human beings, regardless of the mistakes they make, or the crimes they commit. I am concerned with every creature I encounter, and being on this earth. I wait for facts, details, and the opinions of others before I draw conclusions about complex events that I have not witnessed first hand. When new information contradicts the old I change my mind. When engaged with an incompetent ideologue, I retain the hope that the misguided will someday find their way. In this sense I am an unapologetic liberal.

How much of your own food do you grow? How much firewood can you put up with your own hands? How far can you walk in the woods and how long could you stay alive out there if you had to? I think these questions reflect conservative values, and I consider myself a true conservative by this measure.

epjmcginley

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Tuesday December 07, 2010 · 1:33 PM PST

2010/12/07 · 13:33

Time, a curious thing, whether marching or creeping it waits for no one. So it has staggered past the era of hope. Those who suspected him from the beginning proudly stand on their clairvoyance. Those who endorsed and supported him, cautiously retreat in the crowd. All feel a bit of vindication, petty emotions are best left to children anticipating a holiday surprise.

What was it we were expecting anyway? I am finding it hard to remember. There was the promise to end war, or maybe it was just one. There was an assurance that the wealthy would no longer reap all of the rewards, but it is hard to expect them to disadvantage themselves in this way. There was the pledge to end the mistreatment of prisoners in American custody, but of course that has been a longstanding policy, only recently receiving the people's attention. Oh yes, and then there was that most important of all good intentions, the desire for a transparent, democratic government, that would not be inscrutable for the average citizen. It was silly for us to expect these things, how easy that is to see now.

epjmcginley

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Sunday December 05, 2010 · 11:41 AM PST

2010/12/05 · 11:41

This is a world of uncertainty and contradiction, where confusion reigns and nothing can be taken for granted. Just as the cycles appear to offer us what we anticipated, uncertainty steps into the stream and the turbulent vortices begin to turn. Yet, no matter the tortured result of our last prediction, we continue to plan ahead.

When we look out over our lives, from any vantage point within, we see the long slow curve extending from birth to death. At times the future can appear as certain as yesterday in our deceived eyes. This is the context in which we understand the present moment. This is the means by which we find our bearing in a world that would otherwise prove too complicated to understand.

epjmcginley

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Saturday December 04, 2010 · 10:46 AM PST

2010/12/04 · 10:46

Israel burns. The blaze lit by boys who failed to extinguish a camp fire. America crumbles. The decay began with the greed of a few who's ideology overcame their conscience. Palestinians starve by the sea. Haitians dehydrate in the rain. Mexicans are gunned down by their countrymen. The suffering goes on around the world without end.

Who is to blame for all of this? What if a Palestinian had intentionally started that fire? Or a Saudi had caused the American economy to fail? Can you imagine the vengeful justice that would follow? Yet when it serves us best, we can find reason to forgive. Of course, we usually reserve that gift for ourselves. It is then that we can blame the victim more easily. The Palestinians are violent, the Haitians inept, and the Mexicans unruly; this is plain for all to see.

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Life Escaping

It's the Water

Sailing in a Gale

Beauty

Ghosts

Mudcat by the Bay

Babylon

The Rain

The Nature of the Dilemma

The Beginning is Nigh

Desire v. Expectation

Negligence, Malice, Violence and Fear