protectivearts

INITIATION and TESTING

____________________________ I regret not recording where I grabbed this photograph. I believe it was from Life magazine in the late 1970s, taken by Marialba Russo [1] from her study in virility, ritual, and the human need to prove transformation. ____________________________ The latent anthropologist in me laments the lack of rites of passage celebrating importantContinue reading “INITIATION and TESTING”

Hierlooms

My children do not have any memories of Goshen. What I call my grandmother’s house was sold in 1990 after 180 years in the family. Windywalls. True homes in New England all have names, and a house becomes a home only after a birth, a marriage and a funeral take place within their walls. FamilyContinue reading “Hierlooms”

Ernest B. Barker

My father died while I was hunting sage rat in eastern Oregon. I had been anticipating a call from my sister to let me know when his next heart surgery was going to be scheduled. When I got the call it was a few hours later than expected, the foreshadowing of his death was itsContinue reading “Ernest B. Barker”