Quest Blog
A Confession
2013-11-10 You’re wanting to know about the crucified squirrel. But first, here’s what happened to my Christmas lights. I lived in Iowa City, in a second-floor walk-up over Iowa Ave. Without any warning, November was here. Late fall in the Midwest is like if the planet Venus ends up shoved to the back of the…
Read MoreRaking Leaves
2013-11-06 People regularly say to me that they wouldn’t want to live in California, because they would miss the seasons. As a California native who has lived in a variety of other places, I understand this. Who would want to miss the seasons of Oh My God it is Really Snowing in April, or It’s…
Read MoreMorality: It’s About Hopping Out of That Tree
2013-11-07 We all make a decision every day, consciously or unconsciously: Am I going to cooperate today? Perhaps the question is cooperation with a partner. Or the kids. Or a neighbor. Or the people at school or work. Are we going to “go along to get along,” as the old saying goes? How much of…
Read MoreWhat — and who — is Remote?
2013-11-11 “Remote” is different now. I spent the weekend driving from Washington D.C. to Blacksburg, Virginia, and back, with my family and a friend in the car. There were lots of beautiful trees, long stretches of uninterrupted, leaf-lined highway, and countless cows who appeared to be contentedly munching on hillsides of grass. At some point,…
Read MoreWTF?
2013-09-16 Really, WTF? Has people shooting at strangers become a sort of national pastime? Are we supposed to get used to this? Worse yet, have we gotten used to it? Really, what am I supposed to say? Once again we are in that place of knowing that people have been killed and injured for no…
Read MoreThe Endless Seconds of Good
2013-09-20 I was feeling a little shaky earlier this week, and it took me a few days to sort it out. I could point to this or that as the reason, but really I know a big part of it is that on Monday morning, there was another shooting. This time the shooting was in…
Read MoreAutumn Light, Surprise
2013-09-19 So, evening fell on you, didn’t it? And you did not know what day. Did not know what had broken. You had not expected it to have gone so far, the year. Did not expect to have rounded again from light to dark on this day. And it’s surely some…
Read MoreSeeing, from the Cheap Seats
2013-09-26 There are gifts that come of breathing, that come of blood driving through veins, no charge. Just being. One is the noise of existence. Another is when the noise stops. After the theater of the self has closed; after the season of the self goes to reruns, music begins, slow,…
Read MoreRejoice?
2013-09-28 First, gather friends and family. Together, build a structure with at least three sides. Roof it with bamboo or cornstalks, anything you can cut from the ground. Remember to leave spaces where the stars can shine through. Dwell in this place for a week. “Dwelling” includes eating, talking, singing, napping, reading, relaxing, entertaining, all…
Read MoreIdeology
2013-10-01 The government has come screeching to a halt because Speaker Boehner, under pressure from the Tea Party Republicans, will not allow the House to simply vote up or down on a continuing resolution to fund the government. (Since having an actual budget has bizarrely gone the way of the politically impossible.) Unless the Democrats…
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