Category: Reading & Thriving
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Say “Cheese”
I remember reading something a while back in a post from a smart woman who usually has a great perspective on life. You see, she is someone who is all about living life fully, serving others, and making the most of the time you have with those you love. She creates magical memories for her…
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Believe Them When They Show You Who They Are
Most people know this truth, and certainly any student of history can verify for you that there are evil people in the world. There are those who care nothing about their fellow man. They have been a part of the history of the world since the beginning of time. They hated, conquered, raped, pillaged, tortured,…
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Who Pays for the Crime
I did not write the article below. Tracy Michelle, a journalist whose work has appeared in articles and photojournalism work from UPI, The Salem Observer, New York Post, AP, New Hampshire Union Leader, WBBH-TV in Florida. While I don’t know her personally or even from her previous work, this article sent chills through me. I…
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Blessed are the poor…
(A COMMON MISQUOTE FROM THE BEATITUDES.) BUT THE TRUTH IS THEIR LIVES HERE ARE VERY HARD The poor are under attack in the United States of America. Many groups are under attack, but the common denominator is often economic status. Much is being done to assure that these people will stay where they are or,…
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Flowers, Mojitos, Lake-house
I have written extensively through this blog about myself. I’ve written of the struggles of dealing with depression. I’ve written about faith. I’ve written about my dread of the future in today’s political climate. I’ve railed about what I see as a dirth of moral character and an abundance of cruelty in our so-called leaders…
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Find Your Puddle
I’ve been pondering an idea quite a bit recently, and last night as I watched a video where I heard the late Tony Campolo address the very thing I’ve been contemplating. In a sermon (and from what I’ve gathered at many other times) Tony stated: “I have three things I’d like to say today. First,…
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Walk the Walk
History is repeating itself right here and right now. It has been a very long time since I have written. But it is time now to speak up and be heard. To be silent is to be complicit. And any one who knows me already understands the wording will not be in the quiet, measured…
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Memories Distort, Diminish, and Disappear
“Nothing is more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory.” -Franklin Pierce Adams Over time our memories tend to morph and become something very different than they started out. If I talk to my siblings about a family vacation, a holiday celebration, or even everyday life growing up, we have very different…
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An Open Letter on Book Banning – from a long-time educator who cares.
This letter has been sent to all of the board members of the school district where I taught for almost 30 years. I am very saddened, angry, and horrified by recent actions they have taken and the slippery slope they are stating on. It is a sad, sad day when an American public school embarks…
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A Time Not to Forgive
Are people basically good? Or…do we need to be wary of every one? What about family? Close friends? Your church? Coworkers? Yourself? [WRITER’S ADDITIONAL NOTE: If you saw a social media post with a new blog post from me or received an email update saying there was one yesterday and it disappeared, you aren’t imagining…
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God Winks at Me
Godwink. This is a term that I have come to love. I’ve heard people talk of having had a Godwink, and there have even been a few movies based on the term which tell of real life events. While some people may look at things and describe them as conincidence, others may notice them as…
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Rejoicing in a Weary World
This year, far more than any other year I can remember, it seems that I heard more and more people talking about the same thing. “I just can’t get into the Christmas spirit.” “I’m just not feeling it this year.” “Not in the mood.” I was one of those people. The busyness that comes with…
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Can a Book Be Too Good?
Have you ever read a book that was so extremely well written that you couldn’t finish it? Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? But it has happened to me several times now. The first time it happened was with Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones. I was a high school English teacher. We had buried a…
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Let It Go, Let It Go
Letting go is difficult. We’ve all had times when we experience this, and thus the statement I made doesn’t surprise anyone. There are times we are forced to let go. Remember when you were a kid and your family moved? I remember my best friend and I trying to break things in the…
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Days We Thought Would Never End
On Saturday I went to the memorial service for my former principal and friend Rich Sterner. After the enjoyment of seeing so many former colleagues on Thursday night at a retirement party, seeing them on Saturday was an entirely different experience. It was a beautiful service that Rich planned himself filled with music and people who…
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Looking for Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver*
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I still have a lot of stuff I don’t know. There are things I try to do and haven’t mastered. There are ways that I know I could be living more effectively, more productively, or just more happily. Back when we were kids we couldn’t wait…
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“Who is Morrie Schwartz?”
Ted Koppel interviewed Morrie Schwartz in March of 1995 and began the televised segment asking the question above. I have just finished rereading Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom for…well, I don’t even know how many times I’ve read it over the years since I read it to classes. It is one of the books…
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“Who is Morrie Schwartz?”
Ted Koppel interviewed Morrie Schwartz in March of 1995 and began the televised segment asking the question above. I have just finished rereading Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom for…well, I don’t even know how many times I’ve read it over the years since I read it to classes. It is one of the books…
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What Will People Say When…
My friend Karoline and I went to see a movie this past week. We sat down and, as the lights dimmed, I was transported in the “way-back machine” to my high school days. And what a wonderful trip it was! The movie we were seeing was The Jesus Revolution. It takes place in the late…
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I Have Nothing to Say?
I haven’t been writing. But I’ve been thinking about doing it. As always, thinking about doing something actually doesn’t produce anything – not a product, not an expectation met, not a sense of accomplishment. I haven’t written journal entries or blog posts or long Facebook posts or even lengthy emails. Maybe winter inertia set…
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“I Wonder What Would Happen to This World”
The late singer Harry Chapin used to ask a “what if” question. What would happen if we all came together after the generosity shown to our neighbors through the holiday season and discussed the fact that these people are hungry all year. They aren’t lacking food and basic necessities only on Thanksgiving day and during…
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What was said
What she said: You have to look inward to find a way to fill the holes in your life, to find your strength, your connection. What I heard: Yeah, nobody’s going to be there, nobody’s going to help you, nobody’s ever going to care enough to help meet your needs. Handle it yourself. I hear…
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“And The Words of the Prophets Are Written on the Subway Walls”
I am currently reading Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale by the late Frederick Buechner. With all of my reading and my reading about books and authors, I’m not sure why I had never come across this man until he died and people I knew and respected talked of his…
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Vulnerability Sucks – But…
One of the more difficult choices humans face every single day is whether being vulnerable is something they can do in front of family, friends, co-workers, strangers, or even themselves. It is hard for most people at some time, but if you suffer from depression or anxiety or both, then you can be frozen with…
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Learning to Draw the Line
Robert Frost once said that good fences make good neighbors. Right now I am thinking of those fences in terms of boundaries, and I have to say I agree. One of the things that parents should teach children is to have boundaries. Adults are good at giving children boundaries – bedtime, how far from the…
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Independence For All – nah
July 4th is upon us. Independence Day. I don’t think I’m celebrating this year. I grew in the American public schools where I dutifully stood daily and recited. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty…
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Robotic Teachers/Robotic Students – Is this what we want?
___________________________________________________________________________ BEFORE YOU READ THIS, PLEASE NOTE THAT I HAVE SPOKEN TO SEVERAL PEOPLE FAMILIAR WITH THE SITUATION. I HAVE NOT CONTACTED ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT BECAUSE I FRANKLY DIDN’T THINK THEY WOULD ANSER MY QUESTION. ALSO NOTE: I have friends on Facebook who teach in the Cumberland Valley School District. I have not spoken to…
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Love Can Build a Bridge
On April 30, 2022 country music star Naomi Judd died. Her daughters announced that they had lost their mother to mental illness. “Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness,” the statement said. “We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we…
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Choose to Love
Like many church-going children, I memorized Bible verses. Sometimes I did it because it just kind of happened. I had heard the verse repeated so often — like John 3:16, “For God so loved the world…” —that it took root in my memory. Sometimes I did it because a Sunday school teacher encouraged it —…
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I Saw Jesus on Wednesday Mornings in Mechanicsburg
Having been raised in the church, there are quite a few stories from the Bible extremely familiar to me – stories like the creation, Noah’s Ark, Jonah, David and Goliath, the birth of Jesus, the good Samaritan and the Prodigal son…and, of course, the Easter story. I have read these stories more times than I…
A Word Aptly Spoken 