A Slower Pace

For a few days now I have put away my bicycle and instead have been taking long walks through the La Crosse River Marsh. The reason is that Manyu and I plan on taking a five-day trek along the French section of the Camino de Santiago in two weeks, so we want to get...

Recital

This weekend I attended a violin recital of a teenager soon to graduate from high school. Like Clare, Matthew took lessons with Busya, and like Clare, Busya made him perform an hour-long concert as the culminating event of his six years of private instruction. Busya...

Little Soldiers and Hybrid Tigers

With my most recent manuscript out my hands and in the hands of my publisher, I have gone in a new direction with my morning writing. I’ve moved from recalling my experiences in the natural world to reflecting on my daughter Clare’s bilingual and bicultural upbringing...

Intro to Rec

I am currently working on a series of essays about the differences between the American style of education and the  Chinese/Taiwanese style. One of the subtopics is students’ willingness to disagree with their teachers. The following story came to mind… When I...

Bike on the Back Patio

Today I took my bicycle off the device that makes it a stationary bike. I added air to the tires, oiled the chain, and took my first real bike ride of 2022. My legs are not in summer biking form, but it was fantastic. Snow was sparse, the pavement was mostly dry, and...
Steven Simpson