Category Archives: Happiness

The Wisdom That Does Not Cry

Posted on November 29, 2020 by aamontgomery

Wisdom is not a monopoly held only by adults. There is so much we can learn from the deep wisdom of very young children. May we stoop from our greater height, bend our ear close, and listen. Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Nature, Beauty, Childhood, Family, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Joie de Girls, Op/Ed Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

IndigoNation

Posted on October 30, 2020 by aamontgomery

Nothing compares with this dye’s ability to capture the blues of nature—a midnight sky, early dawn, or an impression of the sea. It can also define a mood—of melancholy, of mystery in the dark hues, or joy and vitality in lighter … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Courage, Creativity, Dance, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Op/Ed Thoughts, The Arts, Wonder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Signs of the Times

Posted on June 29, 2020 by aamontgomery

Wherever I go, I have taken photos of signs and other public communication devices that have grabbed my attention for their brazen wackiness, weird points of view, or kernels of wisdom. Here are my favorites. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Beauty, Courage, Creativity, Happiness, Ideas, Knoxville, Love, Screen, Style, Travel, Uncategorized, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Larger Canvas for Our Tiny Boats

Posted on April 30, 2020 by aamontgomery

When history takes charge, our stories are rewritten in a heartbeat. But history is not the only force of nature. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Happiness, Ideas, Love, Op/Ed Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting Older With Keanu Reeves and the Two-fifths Solution

Posted on January 31, 2020 by aamontgomery

Finding a way forward in strange times through the work and ideas of Keanu Reeves and Martin Luther King Jr. Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Happiness, Ideas, Love, Op/Ed Thoughts, Screen | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Essential Question

Posted on October 6, 2019 by aamontgomery

What can we learn from the life of American singer Linda Ronstadt? The essential questions of life–and a great deal more. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Creativity, Dolly Parton, Happiness, Music, Screen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Man of Value

Posted on August 26, 2019 by aamontgomery

Values over riches, people over things: remembering my father and dealing with the grief. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Beauty, Blooming, Childhood, Creativity, Dementia, Family, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Knoxville, Love, Music, Tribute, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Coming Home to Myself

Posted on July 31, 2019 by aamontgomery

For the ones who had a notion,A notion deep inside,That it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive . . . Bruce Springsteen, “Badlands”, 1977 A few months before Bruce Springsteen wrote his elegaic anthem “Badlands”, I left my … Continue reading →

Posted in Alzheimer's, Autobiographical, Bruce Springsteen, Childhood, Courage, Creativity, Dementia, Education, Family, Freedom, Happiness, Home, Ideas, Knoxville, Love, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Tribute, Women, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Day the Music Lived

Posted on June 30, 2019 by aamontgomery

Buddy Holly’s quintessentially American music could have died with him in a plane crash in 1959. But the power of his idiosyncratic genius lives on. Our music is what defines us and our music is what saves us. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Bruce Springsteen, Childhood, Creativity, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Knoxville, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Tribute | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blooming Out of Season

Posted on January 31, 2019 by aamontgomery

Nearly a decade ago I planted two camellias in container pots just outside the front door of our home. I never thought they would live for long–in containers, mind you– in the mercurial climate of East Tennessee. But my sister, … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Beauty, Blooming, Dance, Happiness, Ideas, John Irving, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Stage, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments