When Customer Service Isn’t

Hello on a Thursday afternoon, It is a bit overcast and a little breezy, but still feels like we have finally put a winter season away. It was neither a cold nor a bitter winter, but it was nonetheless long and taxing. There were no significant snowstorms nor did we see any bone-chilling-hide-indoors sort ofContinue reading “When Customer Service Isn’t”

Becoming Norman . . . Pleased or Chagrined?

Hello on the weekend, It has been an emotional couple weeks, and if you have been reading the blog, you have some sense of why that is, but I think there is more. There are times, and their frequency seems to be increasing at an alarming rate, that I feel like I am simply notContinue reading “Becoming Norman . . . Pleased or Chagrined?”

What Happened to Critical Thunking?

Hello on a Spring Break, I find myself more and more dismayed by the lack of critical thinking skills that seem to characterize the world in which we live, and before you think I am referring to only 18-25 year olds, please think again. In addition, before you think I do not fail in thisContinue reading “What Happened to Critical Thunking?”

A Wonderful Job and Some Amazing Students

Hello from my little office on the acre. Many times it seems we have a tendency to only verbalize the negativity we see and feel. I am not sure if it some makes us feel better or if we believe people will somehow feel sorry for us, but I think we are profoundly mistaken onContinue reading “A Wonderful Job and Some Amazing Students”

Being Grateful is both Singular and Plural

Good morning as I move toward the end of another journey. The past few days have been packed with activity, and I have been blessed to spend time with a friend Who hearkens back to when I had barely begun my time at Michigan Tech. I am sitting in the airport in Alicante, continuing myContinue reading “Being Grateful is both Singular and Plural”

Making Sense of Immigration as I feel like One

Buongiorno dal mio piccolo caffè mattutino ad Ascoli Piceno, I am back for my morning cappuccino, shot of water, and croissant. It must have rained during the night or earlier this morning, as there were puddles all around and the stones were beyond a little slippery for this aging person. However, as I walked downContinue reading “Making Sense of Immigration as I feel like One”

Prayers Answered

Hello from Costa on ulica Karmelicka, It is always interesting to return to somewhere you have been before. The change in perception that occurs from familiarity is a difficult thing to quantify, and if the return is more than once, understanding the changes that occur go beyond mere perception to emotion. I think of howContinue reading “Prayers Answered”

The War to End All Wars

Hello from a Starbucks in Selinsgrove, Hiding away and working, but trying to imagine the feelings of not only the important players on the stage in France 100 years ago, but also the simple people, those in France where much of the carnage of a trench war was fought to the families who lost lovedContinue reading “The War to End All Wars”

What Does It Take?

Hello from about 35,000 feet and above the Colorado/Utah border, perhaps a little west. It has been some time since I’ve made a cross-country trek, either by air or land; in fact, it is the closest I’ve been to Placerville since shortly following Lydia’s passing. I believe that is the longest stretch of time awayContinue reading “What Does It Take?”

The World is a Provocative Place

Hello from Richmond, I would like to take credit for the title, but it is something I heard someone say on NPR the other day, and it stuck with me. I think what causes me pause is to ask a question of whether one could always make such an argument or whether the degree toContinue reading “The World is a Provocative Place”