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dying poet writes until all his ink is gone words and breath fading • Donovan Baldwin

I pick up a famous book I really know nothing about. Never read it. I'm smart, went to college, lived long, read lots of books, but, never this one. Always meant to, but never got around to it. So, one day, in the bookstore, in the library, I pick it up and read a paragraph or two. Makes no sense to me. Does NOT capture my imagination. I put it down, move on. Forget about it, until, one day, someone asks me about it. I say I didn't find it interesting. Someone else starts telling THEIR thoughts and impressions from it. They HAVE read it. THEY know! So, I go back, and get the book and read it through. Wow! What a book!!! If I had only known! Okay, I see my point. ----- One day, I meet a guy. Know nothing about him. Not impressed. Write him off. Only read one of his paragraphs. Think I know what he's about. Hmmmm... • Donovan Baldwin

When I'm thinking, like many people, I don't necessarily reach conclusions, or solve problems, every time. In fact, I may create more problems and leave myself with more questions. Still, that's sort of implied by the word "thinking". It's an ongoing process. Also, as we encounter "problems", things to think about, some may be new. We may not have been aware of the problem/question before, or maybe only in a peripheral way. Now, it meanders to the forefront of our mind, and, like a new acquaintance, or even a friend we haven't seen for a while, we have to learn, or re-learn, information about it. Learning is also an ongoing, open ended, experience. So, our thinking about the "thing", an ongoing process, involves "learning", also an ongoing process, which means that the "conclusion" or "solution", may become a bit of a moving target. When we read, listen to, encounter, a great thinker, that someone who makes us think, we tend to expect their great thoughts to enlighten us... solve the problem, provide the conclusion which we can then use to show ourselves to be "thinkers" as well. Nope. Tain't necessarily so. Usually they just show us how much we don't know yet, and start us thinking and learning. That's a "maybe", not a conclusion or solution. Just thinking out loud... about thinking. • Donovan Baldwin

No longer carrying  His needs and approval Walking boldly, stoically  Erect and strong  Into her future Emboldened, knowing It’s hers to define To grasp To own

Solitary walker Bundled against cold Embraced by nature Feast of color to behold Stark and empty Trees stretch high Swirled threatening clouds Posing against an azure sky My eye is treated To every twist and turn Feeling content and glad Fulfilled, sure to return

You know what they say: One’s man trash is another man’s treasure. A man bought a painting for $125 at a thrift store that turned out to be a priceless work of art. UPI reports how William Pugh—an assistant professor of practice for the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Department of Information Systems and Cyber Security—was browsing through the thrift store in Covington, Ga., with his wife. Pugh eventually came upon a painting depicting the biblical story of Eve and the serpent in the Garden of Eden, and suspected it was an original work by African American artist Keith Bankston due to the signature at the bottom, placing its estimated worth far above the $125 price tag. Read the entire article