Category Archives: Uncategorized

Out-of-Order Moments: A Shortlist, From my Youth, by @jackaurquhart

Posted on April 14, 2013 by jaurquhart

(Inspired by WordPress Daily Prompt, 4.14.2013: The Satisfaction of a List) ©2013  1100 words 1.  Apopka, Florida 1950-something:  I never know how to begin, so I just blurt it out—say that I want to plant flowers.  My aunt smirks at … Continue reading →

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The Keeper of the Flame, by @JackAUrquhart

Posted on April 4, 2013 by jaurquhart

©2013    1350 words This is a decades-old photo of my paternal grandmother.  She was in her early nineties and still living in her Central Florida home.  That’s my daughter Devon she’s holding; I think Dev was about 18 months old … Continue reading →

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My Florida … ambivalence (in words and pictures) by @JackAUrquhart

Posted on March 15, 2013 by jaurquhart

© 2013   (670 words) It’s three years this month (March) since my partner Raymond and I moved to Florida from our former home in the San Francisco Bay Area.  It wasn’t a move either of us sought, but, rather, one … Continue reading →

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Book Review, George Saunders’ TENTH OF DECEMBER: In search of the deepest, dearest thing

Posted on February 20, 2013 by jaurquhart

By Jack A. Urquhart, ©2013  (1800 words) “We left home, married, had children of our own, found the seeds of meanness blooming also within us.” The foregoing line from “Sticks,” one of the dark (and darkly funny) morality tales in … Continue reading →

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My Forty-eight, by @JackAUrquhart

Posted on February 6, 2013 by jaurquhart

©2013 by Jack A. Urquhart (1354 words) Lately I have followed with interest, and no small regard, the various “When I was…” posts (also known as “My [insert number]” posts) that have been showing up on social media sites.  For those … Continue reading →

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Ready, Aim, Fire! Gun Facts Pop Quiz, by @JackAUrquhart

Posted on January 31, 2013 by jaurquhart

1. The total number of nonmilitary firearms in the United States as of 2009 was: a. 100 million b. 150 million c. 310 million d. 500 million 2. True/False: The U.S. ranks number 1 in the world in per capita … Continue reading →

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Picayune Pop Quiz for Literature Lovers, by @JackAUrquhart

Posted on January 10, 2013 by jaurquhart

This author was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Gibran Khalil Gibran Ahlam (or Ahlem) Mosteghanemi Tawfiq al-Hakim Naguib Mahfouz This American writer became U.S. Consul to Liverpool because of his connection to President Franklin … Continue reading →

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My Life in a Box, post by Jack A. Urquhart

Posted on January 3, 2013 by jaurquhart

©2013  (864 words) On July 23, 2009, I lost my job as a California civil servant.  Like many life-changing events, my ‘separation from service’ was sudden; I arrived at my agency’s San Francisco offices at 7:30 a.m. and by 9:00 … Continue reading →

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A Letter I Wrote Long Ago, by Jack Andrew Urquhart

Posted on December 27, 2012 by jaurquhart

©2012 by Jack Andrew Urquhart (712 words) 9.29.2003 Dear Mom, I guess insomnia, like so many other things, runs in our family, because here I am—early on the last day of my visit—wide awake and thinking how wonderful it has … Continue reading →

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Jack A. Urquhart’s Quickie Book Review: Tiny Beautiful Things, by Cheryl Strayed

Posted on December 7, 2012 by jaurquhart

©2012 by Jack A. Urquhart (320 words) I received Cheryl Strayed’s engaging, and often moving, Tiny Beautiful Things as a gift—one that (I’ll admit) I took my time in opening.  That is because normally an entire book devoted to real-life … Continue reading →

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