only one thing matters

And it's not what you think.

Main Menu

Skip to content
    • …
  • About

Author Archives: cartochronographer

Larger Than Me

August 3, 2014by cartochronographer 2 Comments

Somewhere, there is a large rock, on a hillside, above a stream, in the woods. It is large enough to sit on if you are a young child, and probably […]

Read Article →
Life

PAN Forum 2013

February 22, 2014by cartochronographer Leave a comment

Note: This is a repost from last year. It’s about to happen again. Science still needs your support. What am I doing in Washington, DC, and why am I pestering […]

Read Article →
Uncategorized

Throwback. Love in Winter.

February 16, 2014by cartochronographer Leave a comment

There’s no good time to fall in love, except when you’re young, and stupid, and don’t know any better, and think (mistakenly) that you have nothing to lose. Outside of […]

Read Article →
Life, New York City

Stuck things

November 2, 2013by cartochronographer 1 Comment

This is a pile of things in the corner, a day of things undone, a list of intentions, a string of words that won’t come. It’s the feeling of the […]

Read Article →
Uncategorized

Swim

September 22, 2013by cartochronographer Leave a comment

This river. I know this river. More than just a little. First, from high above, from the bedroom window of my apartment in Washington Heights, the view greeted me when […]

Read Article →
Swimming

The River

August 27, 2013by cartochronographer Leave a comment

It’s late afternoon and I’m sitting at the end of Pier 25 in Manhattan, a concrete oasis that seemingly sprung up overnight from the broken pilings and submerged wreckage of […]

Read Article →
Life

Unfinished.

August 20, 2013by cartochronographer Leave a comment

The world is a little quieter. A little less clamorous, my friend. A little less wise, and a little less petulant. I need to tell you that a stillness, the […]

Read Article →
Life

No Self

Featuredby cartochronographer 1 Comment

In the quiet solitude of morning, the dogs nuzzle my hand for attention and breakfast. All is quiet. I make coffee, one cup, pouring the boiling water over the grounds. […]

Read Article →
Life

Blue

Featuredby cartochronographer Leave a comment

Comfort me. Fill my eyes with sky, and color so my mind is full and there is room for only sky, and color. Make the sky that blue. Make the […]

Read Article →
Life

Sleepless

July 27, 2013by cartochronographer Leave a comment

Used to mean so many things — the quiet night, the stillness of solitude, dominion over all the quiet spaces while the rest of the world slept. A walk outside, […]

Read Article →
Life

Calamity

July 25, 2013by cartochronographer Leave a comment

Things unexpected. Calamity and consequence. Ruptures. Earthquakes. Sinkholes. The collapse of the ordinary. The tiniest distance in space and time between the ordinary and the extraordinary. I have a memory […]

Read Article →
Life, Love

Five

Featuredby cartochronographer Leave a comment

I am five years old. The world is swing sets and digging tunnels in the sandbox with my hands. The world is tactile — catching butterflies in my cupped hands, […]

Read Article →
Swimming

Rituals

July 14, 2013by cartochronographer Leave a comment

When we talk of ancient people, silent, except for the physical objects unearthed, no words to explain their meaning, the lives they lived, the civilizations they built, we look at […]

Read Article →
Life

Impermanence

July 11, 2013by cartochronographer 1 Comment

It’s early morning. The sun isn’t up yet and I’m trying to remember that most likely my neighbors aren’t either. I have finished with the sleeping for today. It’s quiet, […]

Read Article →
Life

Fighting. Yelling. Dying.

July 10, 2013by cartochronographer Leave a comment

I wrote about stillness. The words are fighting me. They are jamming up and congregating in unauthorized areas and refusing to transit single file. They are being unruly. Transitions are […]

Read Article →
Life

Stillness

July 8, 2013by cartochronographer 3 Comments

I went skydiving once. I did what is called an accelerated free fall (AFF) from 12,500 feet of altitude with two dive instructors in the Mohave desert in California. I […]

Read Article →
Life

This Sacred Morning

Featuredby cartochronographer 1 Comment

Memories are tricky things. Life flows by day to day, slipping gradually, usually, from one thing into another. This year is different from last year in subtle ways. Last year […]

Read Article →
Life

Bookends

July 4, 2013by cartochronographer 1 Comment

Having reminded myself how to change a flat on my bicycle, I’m now giving the beast an overhaul. I sort of, mostly, know how to do this. Parts of things […]

Read Article →
Life

Breathe

July 3, 2013by cartochronographer 1 Comment

Breathe the air. Breathe the air. Breathe real air into my lungs. Now write. This is about afterward. This is a story about Linda (my sister), but not Linda. This […]

Read Article →
Life

Pearls

Featuredby cartochronographer Leave a comment

A stick, a stone. A gesture, a heartbeat. Connections to the natural world, an ephemeral feeling of something larger and interconnected, flowing through, at one with. Experienced in the wind, […]

Read Article →
Life

Post navigation

1 2 Next →

Categories

  • Fictionalized
  • Life
  • Love
  • New York City
  • Running
  • Sailing
  • Swimming
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • August 2014
  • February 2014
  • November 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

Contact info

Nancy Parmalee

Write to me at:

cartochronographer
at
gmail
dot
com

Blogroll

  • Brain Pickings
  • Humans of New York
  • Infactorium
  • Jonesblog
  • themodernscientist

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
Blog at WordPress.com.
only one thing matters
Blog at WordPress.com.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • only one thing matters
    • Join 37 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • only one thing matters
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...