Category: Post
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The Last Day of My Innocence
“I am other, no longer what I was before the affair of yesterday.” An idyllic Thursday in June 2006 was my last innocent evening. A friend and I strolled along the utopian Main Street of Franklin, Tennessee, and savored beer and oysters in the heart of the historic downtown. We discussed plans for my seventh…
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Candid Thoughts On My 66th Birthday
Sixty-six (sesenta y seis) seems weirdly unimportant in a beautiful way. Last year seems more momentous—I began Medicare and turned the official American retirement age, even though I had technically “retired” twenty years earlier. The Spanish word for retired—jubilado—is a wonderfully expressed word. The World Health Organization says age is one of the first…
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My Culture Survey (Spain Edition)
**I saw this survey in The Atlantic and loved it. I adapted it slightly. The upcoming event I’m most looking forward to: Visiting the Costa Brava of Spain. The sun-kissed land, a rugged coastline lined with pine-edged coves, golden untouched beaches, and crystal clear water. Its beauty extends inland with important Greco-Roman ruins, and quiet Medieval villages,…
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Born to be a Free Spirit
Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you. -Jean Claude Sartre I cannot think of anyone who has attained your degree of freedom—my long-time friend Ray commented on a recent post, Ever curious, I began to ponder that statement. People have called me a “free-spirit” all my life. I’ve found that it…
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Sex is a funny little concept, isn’t it?
Traditionally, a male puffs up or hardens his sex organ and physically mounts another human, animal, or sex toy, shoves it into an orifice, and then moves it vigorously in and out as the penis hopefully remains stiff (for many, thanks to Viagra) until it contracts and spews out a whitish substance that inexplicably can…
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Candid Thoughts After Four Months of Life in Spain
At this writing, we are immersed every weekday for six weeks in a Spanish language class. Studies show that language shapes the way we interpret reality. So far it has been fascinating and our teacher is excellent. Learning a different way to speak, read, and write helps discover new ways to see the world—it is…
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An Intimate Look Into Our Life: The Style of Our Book Shelf
Books and the shelves that hold them have always been an integral part of my life—from early childhood until now I’ve always had bookshelves. About twenty years ago, I began styling them to reflect not only my reading habits but the intimacies of my personal life. It is a perplexing cause of vexation that on…
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Shut Up and Sing
Recently, I watched while conservatives told Taylor Swift to shut up and sing, i.e., stay out of their politics, i.e., stay in her lane. Of course, Republicans and Trump are afraid of her—so they try to intimidate her. This worn-out trope sounded all too familiar to me. For decades, I was told the same thing…
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A Portrait of The Artist as a Grown Man (Video and Text)
This post includes the video and text version, the art displayed on the easel in the video, and an exclusive 48-second look at my new atelier at Montecinos in Barcelona. Enjoy. Please click to SUBSCRIBE. A Portrait of The Artist As A Grown Man (A Stream of Consciousness with Apologies to James Joyce) I did…
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Forget Jesus, Give Us Trump
If someone had told me, when I was on the mega-church stage in front of thousands of adoring people, holding their hands when loved ones died, utilizing the arts to bring healing, encouraging them to hang on in a crazy world, personally mentoring hundreds of young artists, loving a wife monogamously for almost thirty years,…
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Life in Spain: Two-Month Update
The moment I walked out of the Barcelona El Prat airport in December I felt a stimulating sense of belonging, it seemed to defy the angst of my life in fragmented America—a country I no longer recognize or feel comfortable in. There seems always to be an inner breeze of excitement, joyful gratitude for Barcelona…
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Sexy Fun—Our Trip to the Erotic Museum Barcelona
Warning: If you are offended by explicit sex acts, photos, and paraphernalia, do NOT read or visit this page. No kidding, do not go further. I have no intention of offending anyone, but I have every intention to enlighten and entertain those who feel free to express their sexuality and erotic desires. Upon learning Barcelona’s Erotic…
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Our Most Magical Day In Barcelona So Far (Museu Nacional d’Art de Cataluna and Maitea Tavern)
We finally had a free day and determined not to waste it, and voila! it was our best day here yet. Many years ago, I watched Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé perform the song Barcelona at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Cataluna. As I wept profuse tears of joy, I vowed one day to go there. Today…
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Thoughts After One Month In Spain
It has been a fast and furious thirty days in Barcelona, preceded by an extremely busy September through December, evaluating neighborhoods, selling most of our earthly belongings, estate sales, obtaining our visas, getting our vaccines, and so much more. We have not stopped for five months—no wonder we feel exhausted. When we settled into our…
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Why This Christmas Was My Best Ever
As Gina and I reflected on this holiday season while enjoying a festive cosmopolitan a few evenings ago, I told her it was my best ever. She asked why. Here are a few significant reasons. —I love new things. And moving to Barcelona has provided a multitude of them: new languages, new routines, new foods,…
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A Day At The Barcelona Opera (Gran Teatre del Liceu)
I am still processing this magical day. Somehow, I got unbelievable seats to a performance of “El Conte De Nadal De Charles Dickens” (A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens) at the iconic Gran Theatre del Liceu in Barcelona. Honestly, I thought we would be most impressed with the grand theatre’s aesthetics and the incredible seats,…
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Our First Week In Spain
Joyful. Scary. Romantic. Confusing. Apolitical. Tapas. Peaceful. Vermut. Surprise. Walking. Acceptance. Running. Freedom. Anonymity. Future. Ancient. Pleasure. Idioms. Excitement. Colloquialisms. Savour. Kissing. Slow. Anxious. Delight. Excitement. Culture. Yes, we are in the honeymoon stage of life in Barcelona. And we are loving it. We have almost as many friends and acquaintances here in one week…
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Our First Day In Spain
At long last, we are here—the beautiful and seductive city of Barcelona, Spain. I plan to chronicle the first day, the first month, and each month after that to see if this dream of life in Spain matches the reality. I asked Gina her thoughts on the first day this evening (we are six hours…