The Beauty of Art: It Reveals Our Humanity

Hello from my study, It seems a bit more than ironic that has I have spent the last 5 days writing all day long, finishing a chapter for publication that I would need to write, but I do. My brain is fried with sentences about gender, chronicity, stigma, IBDs, CRC, hegemonic masculinity, and the listContinue reading “The Beauty of Art: It Reveals Our Humanity”

Letting Go: Sometimes in Ways Expected – Sometimes Not

Hello from my study in the house, I have completed my grading, and the last gasps of a semester, one taxing for both students and faculty, is now upon the faculty. Last weekend, the university held a socially distanced graduation, one thoughtful, safe, and meaningful to students, families, and yes for people here at Bloomsburg.Continue reading “Letting Go: Sometimes in Ways Expected – Sometimes Not”

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”

“Are We Still of Any Use?”

Hello from my kitchen bar counter on a Thursday afternoon,  When I began writing this, we had just managed freezing weather, wind chills of the lower 20s in May, and then during a week of grading, yesterday felt like summer might actually be on the horizon (and even in my yard). It was a weekContinue reading ““Are We Still of Any Use?””

Questioning, Pondering, Disagreeing, and Respecting

Good late Saturday morning from my study, I have another blog I have been working on for about a week, but have decided to shelve it for the moment and take a different direction. I has some issues with sleeping last night, if I am going to be as transparent as I believe I should.Continue reading “Questioning, Pondering, Disagreeing, and Respecting”

I was Fourteen . . . Tin soldiers and . . .

Hello from my kitchen on a Sunday morning, I went to bed early last night and slept pretty well. Up once around 2:00, but this time I was able to go back to sleep somewhat quickly and slept until about 6:30. As usual, I did some reading and some praying. After some morning preparations forContinue reading “I was Fourteen . . . Tin soldiers and . . .”

The Role of a Mentor

Hello from the Office (in the house, that is), This morning when I woke up, it is often the case that I will close my eyes again and pray. I give thanks for the many blessings and people that are in my life that make my life such a wonderful thing. It is then theContinue reading “The Role of a Mentor”

One More Light – How Do We Remember?

Hello from my study/office/refuge, It is amazing the amount of time I am spending on responding to classes, to papers, to phone calls, to focusing intently on each and everything I do. I am not complaining at all, but it seems that every moment of my day, with the exception of getting a walk inContinue reading “One More Light – How Do We Remember?”

Learning from a 17 Year Old

Hello from my kitchen, We are back to school, so to speak, though most of my work will occur at my kitchen counter, in my study, or somewhere in my house. I did go to my office one last time today to set up a watering system for my plants (both the ones in myContinue reading “Learning from a 17 Year Old”