Randy Elrod's Blog, page 13

The Last Day of My Innocence

“I am other, no longer what I was before the affair of yesterday.” An idyllic Thursday in June 2006 was my last innocent evening. A friend and I strolled along the utopian Main Street of Franklin, Tennessee, and savored beer and oysters in the heart of the historic downtown. We discussed plans for my seventh...

I Can See

Candid Thoughts On My 66th Birthday

Sixty-six (sesenta y seis) seems weirdly unimportant in a beautiful way. Last year seems more momentous—I began Medicare and turned the official American retirement age, even though I had technically “retired” twenty years earlier. The Spanish word for retired—jubilado—is a wonderfully expressed word.   The World Health Organization says age is one of the first...

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Why I Take a Nude Self-Portrait Each Birthday and Send To My Closest Friends

Nude photography isn’t just about nakedness; it’s about raw emotion, authenticity, and, sometimes, a touch of controversy. It is one of the art world’s oldest and most debated genres, and it holds a unique position in the tapestry of visual arts. When clothes come off, stories come out. The best nude photographs have a knack...

My Culture Survey (Spain Edition)

**I saw this survey in The Atlantic and loved it. I adapted it slightly. The upcoming event I’m most looking forward to: Visiting the Costa Brava of Spain. The sun-kissed land, a rugged coastline lined with pine-edged coves, golden untouched beaches, and crystal clear water. Its beauty extends inland with important Greco-Roman ruins, and quiet Medieval villages,...

Born to be a Free Spirit

Freedom is what you do with what’s been done to you.  -Jean Claude Sartre I cannot think of anyone who has attained your degree of freedom—my long-time friend Ray commented on a recent post, Ever curious, I began to ponder that statement. People have called me a “free-spirit” all my life. I’ve found that it...

Sex is a funny little concept, isn’t it?

Traditionally, a male puffs up or hardens his sex organ and physically mounts another human, animal, or sex toy, shoves it into an orifice, and then moves it vigorously in and out as the penis hopefully remains stiff (for many, thanks to Viagra) until it contracts and spews out a whitish substance that inexplicably can...

Candid Thoughts After Four Months of Life in Spain

At this writing, we are immersed every weekday for six weeks in a Spanish language class. Studies show that language shapes the way we interpret reality. So far it has been fascinating and our teacher is excellent. Learning a different way to speak, read, and write helps discover new ways to see the world—it is...

An Intimate Look Into Our Life: The Style of Our Book Shelf

Books and the shelves that hold them have always been an integral part of my life—from early childhood until now I’ve always had bookshelves. About twenty years ago, I began styling them to reflect not only my reading habits but the intimacies of my personal life.  It is a perplexing cause of vexation that on...