Amazed by the Changes

Hello from Placerville, CA., It’s the first time I have been back to Hang Town, as it is called, the County Seat of El Dorado County since a somewhat ill-fated trip on December of 2021. My first visit to this little boutique town was in the fall of 2005, when I drove up from SanContinue reading “Amazed by the Changes”

Examining a Changing Academy

Hello from my upstairs office, As I move into my last month of teaching during the academic year, and there is an additional four week summer course to manage, I find myself stepping back to reflect on what being involved in some kind of teaching since 1992 has shown. When I took that first positionContinue reading “Examining a Changing Academy”

Might True Religion be Religionless?

Hello from my office upstairs at the Mini-Acre, It seems like a normal February’s winter day for the first time in a year or more. A bit more than a dusting, but not a full-blown blizzard like many other places, made for some slow getting around this morning, but breakfast in Rohrsburg with two ofContinue reading “Might True Religion be Religionless?”

Time Passages: The Loss of Important People

Hello from my little corner in Panera Bread, As has been my practice for a few years now, and without my trusty accomplice, I am back in Panera sitting where there is an outlet and I can do work. It is Monday, but it seems like I have done three days work already, and itContinue reading “Time Passages: The Loss of Important People”

The Importance of Integrity

Hello from my upstairs office, When I was younger, while I did not frequently lie about things, there were times I probably stretched the truth to some degree. Most times it was because I feared a spanking, which my mother was particularly adept at administering. There were times I perhaps revised the facts because IContinue reading “The Importance of Integrity”

Our Propensity for Drama

Good morning very early Wednesday morning, After an incredibly wonderful, though a bit chilly and wet New Year’s Eve, it seems in spite of vaccinations and a good coat and scarf, I have managed to become one of the numbers (statistics) of which I wrote in my last blog. I have been the majority ofContinue reading “Our Propensity for Drama”

More than a Number

Hello from my living room, It is quiet and peaceful; I returned from a wonderful family Christmas, back in Iowa for the holiday for the first time in a decade. Currently, the music is off; the fireplace is burning softly; and I closed my eyes for a brief minute or two. At the moment, afterContinue reading “More than a Number”

When it’s Real and when it’s a Hope

Hello in the middle of a holiday weekend, Phrases like “it’s the most wonderful time . . . I’m dreaming of . . . In the lane snow is glistening . . . Marshmallows for toasting . . . It’s Christmas time in the city . . . I’ll be home for Christmas.” fill theContinue reading “When it’s Real and when it’s a Hope”

When the Daily Norm is anything but . . .

Hello from my desk on the mini-Acre, I have been commenting, grading, and managing student writing most of the weekend. It is Sunday evening, and the 1st of October. We are into the last quarter of yet another year, soon what will be a third of another decade, and not that far away from anotherContinue reading “When the Daily Norm is anything but . . .”

Can I be the Other?

Hello from the office in Bakeless, It is the beginning of my 15th year here in the PASSHE. What is in an acronym? This state system . . . these institutions of higher education. Fortunately, a former colleague, Joan Navarre, one of UW-Stout colleagues, offered me an article about being a student in the universityContinue reading “Can I be the Other?”