why these two disparate activities
making string figures is a ubiquitous human activity whose beginning is lost in the pre-history of man. no one knows when it began, but the use of yarn, cord, sinew and threads is well established early in man's activities. i came to string figures as a child learning from my grandmother a few very simple figures. it wasn't until i was a math teacher in a public high school looking for ways to interest recalcitrant math students in learning complex iterative behavior that i "discovered" string figures for real. some of my efforts are to be found with the link to the left.
poetry
The other activity which has aroused my life-long interest is that of writing poetry. i have been doing so since i was a young undergraduate. i was never that interested in publishing my work, although a few of my friends have done so at odd moment in my life. i was more interested in the pursuit of perfect statement, an unattainable goal. in my later life i have been drawn to making murphy renditions of other poets by "translating" them into english. it is my way of becoming as close to them as i possibly can. the first i tried was rumi, and then i moved on to chinese poets, especially du fu. they are to be found with the other link to the left.
once when i was young i ran in the rain
down to the river, slipping, sliding down
each drop splashed into me, into the ground
free running slice in a free running grain.
once when i was bouncing grin of the wind,
running fresh as spring's sweet morning mist
each leap was love, was life, was morning kissed,
lightly kissed in rush round corner's bend.
i see him now, that dart down long ago
space was morning stride, down to kiss the sea
arching in the shot to find the living core.
once i felt like him, all at once to know
death is love denied, life is love set free,
each and every morning the water seeks the shore.
murphy after a hurricane in calm sunshine ripple