Early Retirement for Injured Federal Employees
Each era has its false gods — of Greek ones that explained the mysteries underlying the universe; of religions that conquered by the sword; of Philosophers and Kings who ruled with an iron fist; of Freud, Psychoanalysis and other ghosts in the machine; and in modernity, of youth and the cult of the young, and perhaps of the authors of self-help books who have cornered the market on wisdom replaced. […]
Would you hold a dinner party without preparing? Or attend an important meeting, host a regal gathering of accomplished celebrities or go camping in the wilds of winter’s ferocity — without making adequate preparations? The elaborate extent of such preparations is often correlated with the importance, significance, relevance and complexity of the issue at hand, […]
It normally doesn’t come until late in life; of that picturesque paradigm of the old man sitting in a rocking chair beside a crackling fire, a dog or cat, perhaps, on the floor just beside, reading a novel or looking through a picture album; where is Norman Rockwell, and is he still relevant? In modernity and more recently, the picture depicted is of the old couple, or in solitary state of affairs, climbing the mountains in the Himalayas or traveling to exotic lands beyond; […]
There is something particularly annoying about a piece of music, an orchestral ensemble or a simple song that is out of synchronized perfection, or put quite simply, out of tune. The annoyance can be traced, of course, to the origin of the discordant piece; the “band” itself, the group of musicians or the orchestra or symphony that is responsible for the unpleasant sound waves that drift […]
It is both a tool of utility in order to gain entrance and accessibility to an otherwise abrupt encounter with an obstacle barring further forward progress, as well as a well-worn metaphor appropriately applied to miracles, magic and moments of mandatory martyrdom. It is a wonder that a slight defect in the metallic shaving of the implement can allow for the turning of it, and opening into the entranceway, but for that additional indentation; or of a barcode smudged which refuses to make an allowance. In either case, whether as a physical tool or an electronic pass embedded in the plastic sheen of society’s muse, what it opens is the foundation for its very existence. […]
Short stories provide a slice of life; novels, a genre which attempts to provide a picture of a greater whole, and when it falls short, will often be an opportunity to manifest a trilogy of works. But fiction never quite captures the essence of entirety, and we are left with the part, a necessary void, and a missing piece of the puzzle. Every narrative of a life is merely a portion; the microcosm rarely captures the significance of the whole. […]
Such a niche industry, whether by individual craftsmen or in factory output, must have recognized years ago that trouble lay ahead. For, with the transfer of the reading public (which in itself is shrinking daily) from paper to electronic medium in the form of ebooks, […]
Does it establish the existence of empathy if a person asks after someone’s health or wellbeing? If, in the next moment, the querying individual does something which would constitute “backstabbing”, does it negate the previous sincerity of the asking? […]
The time we expend ruminating upon future events which fail to occur; or engaging in frivolities beyond needed leisure to restore one’s mind and body; it is when action or inquiry could have answered one’s concerns that such time, once lost, is lost forever. […]