Thank you!

You're welcome, Ginny

You sound like Hesse in his poem: The women of Ravenna kiss Rarely and deep, they kiss back. And all they know about life is that We all have to die

BTW, in correcting the errors I noticed a faulty clause - a misplaced modifier- 'who exactly resembles my wife' and it was in the wrong position and made it appear that the house resembled my wife...tsk

How embarrassing these careless errors, and I who corrected so many on students' papers - and depending on where they occur, they can seriously mar the tale and even skew the sense...but such is the price

What I liked about the picture is that the other trees are turned to ashes - the fire motif - better to burn out than to die out. I see what the Romans called lacrima rerum - lit. 'tears for things' -

No, and I like that about people, mind you, while acknowledging I'm a bit blinkered myself

Yes, and I suppose our novels become collective dreams

Exactly, Arthur - that's why I write so much about stone men, frozen men

Sorry you're going through a rough patch right now - have you considered fictionalizing your experiences as a way of distancing them from yourself? You write well, I don't see why you shouldn't try to

You just tipped me more than you know. Thank you for the encouragement :)

Hmm, living on other planets and populating the cosmos...sounds familiar, yes, strangely familiar, my friend. Not what I expected as part of your theology :)

A continuation of your meditation on changes, @slowwalker. In this case, the city boundaries of Seoul change over time and so much so that the choice of a fortified location becomes irrelevant as the city

Thank you, my friend. I don't like to steal ideas so I appreciate your generous offer. Inspiration is half the process of writing the story - the percolating is the rest :)

It's a lifetime process, this business of refining our sensibilities

you're welcome. @slowwalker

Thanks

An interesting post, @slowwalker - seeing the past in terms of the present and then the past in terms of the eternal. The slope of the temple roof mirrors the mountains but the modern buildings point skyward

thanks

thanks