To Lament or To Learn

Hello from the micro-acre, The summer I did my Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at St. Luke’s in my hometown of Sioux City, there was a lot on my plate. I had been diagnosed with what then was determined to be Ulcerative Colitis, I was on leave from the seminary, was planning a wedding at theContinue reading “To Lament or To Learn”

Where Do We Find You?

Hello from Bloomsburg, It’s Friday, and it’s been a week of extremes when it comes to what I was planning for and what I was not. It began with the Memorial Day, and I was fortunate to attend the commemoration of veterans at one of the most well-kept of area cemeteries. The event was nicelyContinue reading “Where Do We Find You?”

Silence: Wisdom’s Best Reply

Hello at the end of an great weekend, This past week a close friend asked me about how I seem to know how to respond to what someone says or just how to reply in a given situation. Let me preface my response with an honest disclaimer. I certainly have been know to put bothContinue reading “Silence: Wisdom’s Best Reply”

A Scar that Never Fades

Good early morning, Into the post-Super Bowl, pre-Valentine’s Day, middle of the week-Winter Olympics mashup of February. It’s the 10th of February, and a day for me that remains as clearly etched into my memory as November 22, 1963, the 28th of January 1986, 911, or even March 4, 2020 (I actually noted in conversationContinue reading “A Scar that Never Fades”

Hooped Earrings and Monster Trucks

Hello from breakfast at Perkins, The beginning of the year is like an episode of the show that was on television when I was small, titled The Twilight Zone. I know that comment is anachronistic, and it reminds me of the last few years I was teaching and things I had used anecdotally earlier inContinue reading “Hooped Earrings and Monster Trucks”

Leaving While It’s Safe

Hello as I wait for a snow storm (more of UP proportions than what I normally my experience in PA), I started this at the beginning of the week, and the week has gotten away from me. There has been some good things happen, and on the other hand, I am still waiting on aContinue reading “Leaving While It’s Safe”

What Constitutes Peaceful?

Hello from Main Street in the only incorporated “town” in Pennsylvania, My head is whirling and my brain seems to be stuck in overdrive. Across the street from my little space I can hear people protesting the events of the last week. I hear cars honking their horns in support. The world seems to beContinue reading “What Constitutes Peaceful?”

Memories of Love

Hello from my new space, It’s been a good day and a half, and a great deal has been accomplished. Since returning from the Thanksgiving trip to Iowa, I have worked to recover from a serious cold, and packed in the various remedies, including homemade Chicken Noodle soup. I still have a cough, though productive,Continue reading “Memories of Love”

Imagining a Permanent Advent

Hello from the couch, I am back in Bloomsburg, and along with visiting relatives back in the Midwest, I got one piece of the nomadic past year back in my semi-permanent space. I think the next piece will be to load up bus components in Tennessee and get them back here also. I also managedContinue reading “Imagining a Permanent Advent”

Wishing or Needing?

Hello from Millworks Coffee Shop, I am in the Quad Cities on the Iowa/Illinois border both to visit family for Thanksgiving as well as complete a major piece of collecting and managing what has been a fragmented first year of retirement. A moment in a coffee shop brings back so many memories from writing aContinue reading “Wishing or Needing?”