Autumn 2019: After a week of vacation in South Dakota, I was home for a couple of weeks. I saw a couple of plays, had a few dinners out, and met a friend for drinks one evening. I went on two work-related trips. I hosted two houseguests from different parts… Read More »Changes In A Year
If you ran into him on the street and noticed him, you’re likely to think, “He’s an odd-looking fellow.” While he appears to be in his fifties, I think he’s much younger. He’s about 5’5” tall, wears a hat that’s a bit too large so that it hangs over his… Read More »I Appreciate You
There are lots of memes on social media about 2020. One I see regularly is captioned, “If 2020 were a scented candle…” and the image is a row of portable toilets on fire. Another asks, “If 2020 were a drink, what would it be?” The answer: a colonoscopy prep. Yes,… Read More »The Light Switch
I stumbled out of bed one morning this week and into the bathroom a bit after 7:00 AM. It occurred to me that it seemed unusually dark. I somehow hadn’t noticed that sunrise is coming later and our days are growing shorter. As I looked outside, I saw that the… Read More »Seasons of Change
Sometimes I stand at the end of my driveway and focus on two wooden boxes perched in a corner of my yard. These boxes are home to honey bees. A few years ago, my partner began keeping hives to help sustain the bee population in our area. Watching the bees… Read More »It’s Our Nature
I talk to my friend every few weeks. We met over twenty years ago when we lived in the same city. Now we live at opposite ends of the country, so our contact is mostly by phone and email. Every few weeks, we have a long conversation in which we… Read More »Finding Hope
I’ve experienced many different kinds of transitions in my life. I’ve lived in Johnstown, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Morgantown, WV; Miami Beach, FL; Tucson, AZ; St. Louis, MO; and Atlanta, GA. Movements from city to city represent one kind of transition I’ve experienced. I’ve held many different jobs: hospital chaplain, pastor,… Read More »Transitions and Transfigurations
It’s difficult not to be discouraged. There’s no way to escape it. The problems of the world are huge. It seems like many people are hell-bent to make them worse. In the US, the pandemic is out of control and political corruption is at an all-time high. These serious concerns… Read More »Discouraging Times: Can We Say All Will Be Well?
