A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
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Almost exactly 13 months since we moved out of our home and into temporary housing, we have moved back in. We moved out on October 23, 2024, and returned on November 21, 2025. I’m sitting here with coffee watching the sun rise over our little lake, rather than staring at the side of some neighbor’s … Read More “Home!” »
One year ago our lives changed. Our house was substantially damaged by Hurricane Helene. The entire region was damaged beyond imagination. Even now, there are are people struggling, and signs of Helene’s passage everywhere. We’ve been through lots, but when I look at what others have suffered, I feel survivor’s guilt. In many ways, we’ve … Read More “Helene One Year Later” »
You may have noticed a lack of posts here lately. I’ve had some posts started, but lately my mental state has just not been up to writing. Call it depression, PTSD, or whatever. I’ve been getting out and doing lots of things, but the motivation to write just hasn’t been there. Today I’ve come down … Read More “How’s the House, Part 3” »
EDIT: I’m catching up on blogging. This one was supposed to come out late July, but I never got around to finishing it. I guess better late than never. My nephew’s son is 13, and is car-crazy. Ethan has this idea that he wants to find an old car and rebuild it. He thinks he … Read More “Cruising through a Car Cemetery” »
As the Vatican was pronouncing Habemus papam, we were exclaming Habenus tecto. We have a roof! It’s amazing what was accomplished in just a few days. Last Friday they took down all but one wall of the room that received the most damage. That one wall stood sad and alone, almost more depressing than when … Read More “How’s the House? Part 2” »
How’s the house? A casual question,Asked by upon encounter,Much like, “How’s the weather?”,A placeholder for deeper conversation. How’s the house? It’s tarp-covered, leakyWith cracked crumbling plaster,The ceiling open to rafters and wildlife.It sits as it did six months ago. How’s the house? It’s chaotic, A jumble not knowing where anything is,A reminder of too many … Read More “How’s the House?” »
This story starts back last winter. It was a cold Wednesday morning at the Pickens Flea Market and we really wanted to get a fire going in Ralph Perry’s ancient 1902 vintage stove. The problem was that there was nary a match, lighter, nor flint amongst us. This being the flea market we were eventually … Read More “Looking for a Match” »
My, how time flies. On May 14, 2004, RandomConnections first came online. 20 years and nearly 3000 posts later, and the site is still going strong. I know I’ve said this before on other anniversaries for the site, but here’s a brief history… In 2003 I started experimenting with blogging. The first iteration was at … Read More “Twenty Years of Random Connections!” »
You never really realize how much ambient noise is in your house until you try to record a podcast. Here’s just a partial list of what I’ve had to deal with over the last several days… • Radiator pings• Furnace pumps for radiators• Computer fans• Neighborhood leaf blowers• Traffic noise• Sirens• Jets flying overhead• Creaking … Read More “Ambient Noise” »
I have to confess. I really like journaling. Otherwise I wouldn’t have kept this blog for nearly 20 years. But this blog isn’t my only outlet. I’ve kept written journals for specific purposes over the years, but haven’t had much success with a daily journal. The one thing I’ve learned over the years is that … Read More “Reconsidering Journaling and New Options” »