Peter M. Hunt's Blog

The universe occasionally finds a need to test my sense of humor, and, for some reason, it chooses the peculiar locale of the Haggen parking lot for these trials. This is the third time the focus of my writing is the fifty-foot stretch between my favorite parking spot and the supermarket’s front door.

I had finished shopping and was about to transfer groceries to the car when a sudden gust of wind snatched my shopping list from the cart and sent it flying across the parking lot. When I tried ...

I went on a two-mile hike today. Painful from start to finish, it was the hardest hike of my life. It was also my most satisfying.

Shrouded from the world by the branches of giant Cedars, it was the hike I had, not the one from 2 weeks or 2 years ago, or a future fantasy walk of pain-free ease. Pain comes and goes, but the gratitude one has for the opportunity to feel that pain should be as timeless in being’s grace as the shadows cast under my feet by the giant Cedars.

A friend died two days ago after several years of suffering. I met James Fetty after he was admitted to the local hospital for a quickly spreading MERSA-like leg infection. The prognosis was grim – the infection had started in his left leg and had become so severe in just a few days that doctors were forced to amputate.

Not even a week had passed, and James was faced with the news that the infection had inexplicably spread to his right leg. His wife was out of town, rushing home, but not expe...

By, Mark Harris

A guest writer’s perspective

Cultivating strong reading habits in children isn’t just about test scores or academics, it’s about opening doors to empathy, creativity, and critical thinking. In a world increasingly filled with distractions, helping your child connect with books can be one of the most valuable and lasting gifts you give. Reading builds confidence, boosts language development, and helps kids explore the world beyond their own experience.

But raising a reade...

Yesterday morning, Laurie asked me if I wanted to hike up Goose Rock. As it had been two and a half hours since my first dose of Crexont (about 550 mg Levadopa, totaling 2600 to 2700 mg Levadopa daily), I wasn’t exactly champing at the bit to go, but hiking seemed to be within the realm of possibility; had I been in the depths of being off, the mere thought of hiking would have been overwhelming.

By the time we left the house, I was almost too dyskinetic to drive, indicating that I was slight...

I am glad to report that I finished the 3 rd annual Memorial Day, “Hike (from Rosario
Beach dock to Bowman Bay and out to Lighthouse Point and back, 3.3 miles), Swim
(from the dock to the beach), and Swig (a shot of boat rum, from the same bottle for all three years).

This was preceded by a single-handed boat trip to Rosario Beach (20 minutes each way
– my wife was with me, but she had her hands full with puppy duty), and ended with my backing the boat into into the slip.

This event, the 3 rd...

The mourning doves are louder than during previous springs, their cooing in search of a mate replacing the cackle-screech of the Starlings of years gone by. We have lived in the same house for 34 years, the Starlings, a calming influence once the cacophonous clatter of their incessant bleating fades tIn mourning

The mourning doves are louder than during previous springs, their cooing in search of a mate replacing the cackle-screech of the Starlings of years gone by. We have lived in the same ...

Recently, I learned of two tragedies that made me consider life from a different perspective. One involved a man who faced an impossible decision after a fall, a result of a vertigo-induced condition caused by successful chemotherapy. The other tragedy was the story of a man who had been silently battling his inner demons for years, following the loss of his wife to a long-term illness.

The first man had reached the precipice of his working life and was ready to enjoy an active retirement tha...

Life’s only certainty might be that spiritual growth is not linear. Instead, it revisits the past like an infinity symbol on its side, exposing long regression periods. I had been floundering somewhere in the far circle of infinity’s ignorance for several months, pressuring a choice I didn’t think was necessary for the longest time. Recently, though, I was forced into a decision, which has catapulted my consciousness to the precipice of virgin territory.

I came to this realization today on a ...

As I recognized the woman—who I hadn’t seen in years—my mind raced with intense associations. I shuffled to their table to say hi. Ten years earlier, the woman had been the communications director for the local school district where I sat on the board. She had been particularly sensitive to my PD, and kind in her concern.

When we last spoke, it was 2014 and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery neared. The procedure had a high, but temporary success rate, with symptoms usually re-emerging five...