The Useless Tree

Aidan

  • Forever Small

        This story came across the wires yesterday: In a case fraught with ethical questions, the parents of a severely mentally and physically disabled child have stunted her growth to keep their little “pillow angel” a manageable and more… Continue reading

  • Friday I Ching Blogging: Work in the New Year

         It’s been a long time since we have consulted the I Ching.  To ring in the New Year, I thought it would be good to go back to the oracle and ask about my work in the coming… Continue reading

  • The Loss of a Year

         I have learned more about myself this holiday season than any other I have experienced.  Christmastime and the end of a year bring reminiscence.  For me, that memory is dominated by the loss of my son, Aidan, who… Continue reading

  • November

         November is the saddest of months.  With all due respect to T.S. Eliot, November is sadder than April because the latter, however seemingly cruel, gives way to the green and warmth of Spring; life returns and revives, everything… Continue reading

  • At Fifteen

        Today is Aidan’s fifteenth birthday.  I thought about saying "would have been" his fifteenth birthday, but I will keep it in the present tense.  He continues to be a presence in my life, even in his absence, and… Continue reading

  • Six months

         Today I noticed a flush of red-orange leaves in a tree still predominantly green.  There are many such hints of the coming autumn here in the northeastern United States.  A few trees are losing their cover; colors are… Continue reading

  • Tu Fu and Aidan

         I’m out of town today, down in the big city.  Here’s a poem I found by Tu Fu that touched my heart: Thinking of my Little Boy Apart still, and already the oriole songsFill warm spring days.  Changing… Continue reading

  • News Flash: Book Not Pirated in China!

         I just received a nice email from the foreign rights manager at the publisher of Aidan’s Way, telling me that, in fact, the Chinese edition (which I discussed here) is legal and proper.  It seems that I was… Continue reading

  • Finding Aidan in China

         About six months ago I discovered a Chinese edition of Aidan’s Way, my book about my son.  I had found it on a Swedish book seller’s web site (don’t you just love globalization!) and then ran it down… Continue reading

  • Reflections on Analects 9.17

    Standing beside a river, the Master said: "Everything passes away like this, day and night, never resting." TimeFills up and fills inpouring into each moment of our livesseeping into every crack and crevice.It flows into uswe drift along. He defined… Continue reading