Overall, I have much to be thankful for. First of all, I woke up this morning, even if it was to an obnoxious alarm clock. I have an amazing wife in Bonnie; a courageous son in Chris; and, a cadre of loyal friends and family. Also, I have the ability to create, whether it be a detailed scholarly historical analysis; or, a song that conveys my thoughts and emotions. For all of this I should be most grateful. And 2015 could be my year! Hejira’s reunion CD “The Path Back Home” is near completion and will be released for public consumption sometime in the early spring. My poetry collection “Semicircles” is being shopped amongst book publishers. And my latest scholarly book project, “A More Perfect Union?: The U.S. Constitution in Contemporary America” is almost writing itself. Oh, and did I mention that I have a book chapter to be published by New York University Press in the volume, “The American Presidents and the Constitution”, edited by Ken Gormley? Yet, there is a part of me that feels as if the years are lurching forward and leaving me in its dust. By all rights, this should have been in the sixteenth year of my teaching career, secure in my natural habitat—the college classroom. Of all the things I have ever done, or for that matter will ever do, in my own estimation I did my very finest work within a room full of students. Being with young, alert minds every day kept me young, vibrant and relevant. Since the onset of my serious illness, I have become reclusive. The better part of my days are spent in my study reading, writing or composing. Bonnie has been urging me to get out more: To even get out and play club dates again like I did back in the days when we were dating. Yet, in my declining health, I have come to accept my solitude. Other than occasional dates with my wife, or physician appointments, I do not get out much. Life is comfortable within a cocoon, which is perhaps why most of us embrace a reality we can create for ourselves. Yet, I exist in anonymity, quietly observing from my seat on a city bus, or a park bench, or during afternoon strolls through the streets. I push myself to embrace the outside world outside with greater vigor—before I really do grow old.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 12:06:02 +0000
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