Understanding How and Why

Hello on a day of taxes, unexpected events and unsure of what next. The afternoon will be taxes. it’s been a morning of meeting a large truck with the back of the Beetle, no real damage to the truck, and something quite different for the bug. Dinner tonight with a former colleague and feeling likeContinue reading “Understanding How and Why”

Trying to Make Sense of it All

Hello at the beginning of another week, One of my former students was quite exasperated with me when she lived at my house because I was at some points a real pain, albeit unintentionally. She was the first of a number of students and exchange students who would live with me, and I must giveContinue reading “Trying to Make Sense of it All”

Teleological Transactionalism and Christian Conservatism

Hello from my little corner of the world. While a part of me loves the political of the world, another part is continually surprised (to some extent) and dismayed at how the human lust for power and the seemingly insatiable need for resources (e.g. greed) seems to determine what we do, be it individually orContinue reading “Teleological Transactionalism and Christian Conservatism”

No Promise of Reciprocation

Hello on a sunny and hopeful day, While it is a sunny and warmer day, any thought that Spring has sprung is not really something I believe to be true. And yet, we are easily spoiled. As I have aged, I find myself wondering what it was that offered such joy or excitement when snowContinue reading “No Promise of Reciprocation”

Confession or Accusation . . .

Hello from Main Street in Pennsylvania’s only town, When we are being honest with ourselves, I ponder what that means, or perhaps more significantly, is that even possible? Much like the concept of altruism, as humans can we ever be completely altruistic? Morton Hunt, in his book, The Compassionate Beast, asserts that we are innatelyContinue reading “Confession or Accusation . . .”

Tradition and Transformation: Fasnacht and Carnival

Hello on a Friday the 13th, There is so much happening in our world presently it is difficult to find a moment to breathe, or at least that is how it seems. Is my looking at all of this my version of doomscrolling or is it something more? I would like to believe that IContinue reading “Tradition and Transformation: Fasnacht and Carnival”

Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes and More

Hello from the road, We (my sister-in-law, her husband and I) spent the night in Sandusky, OH, after a long day of driving from the Quad Cities, and on our way back to drop me off in Bloomsburg before they arrive in New Jersey. It was a busy two weeks-plus back in Iowa for theContinue reading “Minnesota: 10,000 Lakes and More”

Understanding a Vow

Hello from the corner of La Malbec, Time continues to march on, and often seemingly more quickly than expected. Over the past few years, and even more recently, attempting to fathom what it means to be a faithful person has become increasingly difficult. Why? While there are a multitude of reasons, the shift in publicContinue reading “Understanding a Vow”

Consistently Inconsistent

Hello on an atypical Saturday afternoon, When I first started this post we were about 1/2 the way through April, and rapidly approaching the Easter weekend. I had attended the PMEA State Choral concert in the Poconos. The picture is from our drive. It appeared and seemed anything but Spring, as the photo above illustrates.Continue reading “Consistently Inconsistent”

Being an American . . . Not as Easy as Perhaps We Thought

Hello from my study on the acre, As I grew up in the early 6os and into the 70s, certainly our country was coming of age, so to speak. We were in a different world and the United States was understood quite differently than it had been certainly up through the First World War andContinue reading “Being an American . . . Not as Easy as Perhaps We Thought”