Lonely Wind

Hello from a Starbucks on Clinton Street, It is in downtown Iowa City, where I once wandered as a student in 1982. Hard to believe it was that long ago, but it is the beginning of another academic year and there are students everywhere. I have been managing things as I work toward getting seriousContinue reading “Lonely Wind”

American Gothic and My Iowa Roots

Hello from rural Mallard, It’s about the end of the day, the sun is setting, I can smell livestock from the hog containment facility down the road, and yes, there are flies (scads of them). It was a productive day as I got the weather stripping for the main bus door ordered, and the majorityContinue reading “American Gothic and My Iowa Roots”

Aspiration is Life

Hello from the Main Bus Station in Kraków, This is when this post began, but the lack of synchronization with devices from WordPress seems to have lost it. However, with minimal revision, the post remains relevant. Reflection is a central element of life for me. Recounting, reimagining, reconsidering what has happened, where I have been,Continue reading “Aspiration is Life”

Prayers and Promises

Hello on another rainy evening in Pennsylvania, While I asserted we needed some substantial rain back in April, when showers are expected, it is now mid-June and the showers, drizzle, downpours, and incessant forms of precipitation continue. There have been flood warnings more than once, and yet, on a positive note, things are as greenContinue reading “Prayers and Promises”

Critical, Thorough, and Intentional

Hello as I wonder yet again, It is shortly after midnight, and feeling exhausted earlier, I laid down. I feel asleep and awoke more than once listening to the news of the day. Now I am as wide awake as if it was time to get up in the morning, after a restful night’s sleep.Continue reading “Critical, Thorough, and Intentional”

Something New or Merely Continued

Hello, and welcome to a new blog posting year, It is the second of January and we are enamored, if you will, at the idea of a fresh start, and in light of our past year, the hope that somehow this trip around the sun might be a bit less traumatic, a might bit lessContinue reading “Something New or Merely Continued”

A Walking, Breathing Oxymoron

Hello from my office on a dreary and chilly pre-Apocalyptic Friday, As I write this, I am doing it to clear my mind, to make sense of the nonsensical, to put my trust in something larger than myself, which is always needed, and to create the possibility that I might be able to focus aContinue reading “A Walking, Breathing Oxymoron”

Failing at Something or Learning as a Process

Hello from my study, I am often asked if I knew I was going to be a professor earlier in my life. The answer is a simple and straightforward NO. Not in my wildest dreams, or more likely, nowhere in the realm of possibility could I have imagined that I would become a college professor.Continue reading “Failing at Something or Learning as a Process”

Who am I? Imagining Identity

Hello from my office at school, It is strange to be in my office at the university for hours on end and see almost no one, and yet, that is our lives in this fall of 2020. If we had our pre-Covid world yet, I would be arriving in Poland this week to begin aContinue reading “Who am I? Imagining Identity”

Procrastination: A Mental or Emotional Block?

Hello from my office in the house, I am going to head to the university shortly, mask in hand, and lock myself way in my office. There are multiple reasons for that, but suffice it to say my technology at home and I are fighting. Technology is winning, which is usually the case. It isContinue reading “Procrastination: A Mental or Emotional Block?”