Poetry
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The Made Bed and Other Tales of Transformation
Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them. Aristotle Linda and I recently sat down for dinner with our friend, Keith. Keith is a retired social worker who previously managed housing for at-risk adults. His tenants included everyone from folks dealing with mental health issues to those with debilitating addictions. These people… Continue reading
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A Myth Understanding
A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence. Rollo May As many of my readers know, I am an avid biker — as in bicycles. With the exception of the rare rainy day cancellation, I ride from the spring thaw to… Continue reading
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WannaHug — Values-Driven Shopping With a Twist
You can’t make positive choices for the rest of your life without an environment that makes those choices easy, natural, and enjoyable. Deepak Chopra As a child, I loved going grocery shopping with Mom. I would like to think she appreciated my help, but for her it may simply have been a chance to spend… Continue reading
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Let it Go
Life is a balance of holding on and letting go. Rumi Warning: This is a bit of a convoluted, shaggy-dog article. It’s my hope that if you hang in long enough, it will eventually make sense. That is assuming any of my articles ever make sense. Despite not being related, I called my parents’ best… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/27/knockin-on-heavens-door/ Pip: There’s a moment when you realize you’ve been closer to the end than the beginning for a while now — and instead of panicking, you sit down and pick funeral songs. Mara: That’s exactly where Andrew Prokop takes us today. The episode covers one extended… Continue reading
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Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
And were an epitaph to be my story I’d have a short one ready for my own. I would have written of me on my stone: I had a lover’s quarrel with the world. Robert Frost I am not the kind of guy who overthinks death. My life is too full and rich for that.… Continue reading
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The Boomer’s Guide to Surviving Technology
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. Alan Watts Every other Monday, my men’s retirement circle meets for connection, conversation, and friendship. It’s the most formal of all my groups, but the formality is still fairly loose. We begin with check-ins… Continue reading
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July Meditations, Reflections, Travelogue, and Scrapbook
My life, I realize suddenly, is July. Childhood is June, and old age is August, but here it is, July, and my life, this year, is July inside of July. Rick Bass July is very important to me. First and foremost, it is the month I was born. It’s hard to imagine what Mom endured… Continue reading
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Redefining Productivity
You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful. Marie Curie During… Continue reading
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The Burden We Call Love
The burden which is well borne becomes light. Ovid At a recent gathering with a few male friends, our freewheeling conversation turned towards aging and caring for those who are no longer able to look after themselves. As is common, and somewhat expected with a group of white Americans, someone almost immediately said, “I don’t… Continue reading
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Where do the Children Play
It is right that he too should have his little chronicle, his memories, his reason, and be able to recognize the good in the bad, the bad in the worst, and so grow gently old down all the unchanging days, and die one day like any other day, only shorter. Samuel Beckett As a grandfather… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Free Range Retirement
Note: The underlying article can be found at Free Range Retirement. Pip: There’s a quote that opens the post we’re covering today: “The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.” Which, honestly, sounds less like a warning and more like a sales pitch. Mara: Andrew Prokop is two years into retirement… Continue reading
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Free Range Retirement
The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off. Abe Lemons I love a good coming of age story. It doesn’t matter if it comes in the form of a movie, book, or song. I love thinking about the transition from one way of living to something completely different. In many ways,… Continue reading
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See and Say the AI Way
There’s no reality except the one contained within us. That’s why so many people live an unreal life. They take images outside them for reality and never allow the world within them to assert itself. Hermann Hesse Those of you who have been paying attention to my recent blog articles have surely witnessed my experimentation… Continue reading
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Our Profile in Courage
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T. S. Eliot I grew up in a time when there was one telephone per house. People would call our number, Whitney 5-2497, regardless if you wanted to reach Mom, Dad, any of my five siblings, or me.… Continue reading
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Get Off My Lawn — The AI Edition
I often tell my students not to be misled by the name ‘artificial intelligence’ – there is nothing artificial about it. AI is made by humans, intended to behave by humans, and, ultimately, to impact humans’ lives and human society. Fei-Fei Li I recently came upon an article that stated that AI is creating a… Continue reading
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Death Cafe
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? Edgar Allan Poe Last Wednesday, my church hosted a death cafe. For the uninformed, a death cafe is a gathering of people who want to talk about death. There is… Continue reading
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Uncluttering
Amidst one’s daily clutter, one doesn’t usually reflect on the splendor of being free because – naturally – one has to get on with the business of living. Upamanyu Chatterjee Linda and I moved into our three story Victorian house (or barn as I often call it) in the winter of 1998. I remember it… Continue reading
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Randomness
This wretched brain gave way, and I became a wreck at random driven, without one glimpse of reason or heaven. Thomas Moore Linda and I are up at Lake Sallie for our annual cabin opening extended weekend. This involves cleaning up mouse poop, putting patio furniture back into place, coordinating with plumbers and dock installers,… Continue reading
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Healthy Sexuality
Sexuality is one of the ways that we become enlightened, actually, because it leads us to self-knowledge. Alice Walker Note: I tried to not use the word “sexuality” in the title of this article, but the alternates were either too clunky or sounded as if I was trying too hard to sound clever. “Life is… Continue reading
Can You Hear Me Now 