No Useless Friends nor Harmless Enemies

Hello from the first part of June, and it is warm; We are so affected by weather. It influences not only our decisions and actions, but also our moods, our outlooks, and perhaps as importantly as anything, even how we react or respond to those around us. Most of my life I have lived whereContinue reading “No Useless Friends nor Harmless Enemies”

Why Respect Matters

Hello from the diner, When I come to the diner today, I remember how this family establishment has become part of the collective memory of my time in Bloomsburg. There was a period where I was here most every morning and names like Dave, Doug, or Father Fennessy, seated at the left counter as youContinue reading “Why Respect Matters”

“The Road Not Taken”

Hello on the first of June, As noted by my father regularly, time will begin to seemingly pass by more rapidly. Of the many wise things, truthful things he said, this one might be the more accurate. At least, that seems to be the case as I consider how we got to the first ofContinue reading ““The Road Not Taken””

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”

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”

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 . . .”

Grief is the Proof Love Exists

Hello on the Month that we celebrate love, Valentines Day is certainly a mixed bag, albeit something we spend billions of dollars on each year (this year the prediction is 29.1 billion or just shy of 200.00 per person – I did multiple searches including AI). And recently titles like SAD (Singles Awareness Day, whichContinue reading “Grief is the Proof Love Exists”

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”

Only Remembering or Telling What We Want

Hello from yet another February morning, Whether or not it only seems I am looking back at life more frequently or it’s an actuality, I’m unsure, but turning 70 must have something to do with that particular action. And yet as I ponder my life and the events or experiences, the people and places thatContinue reading “Only Remembering or Telling What We Want”

From Kent State to South Minneapolis

Hello as January turns to February, As a history major, as a person who studied philosophy at all levels in higher education, as a person with both a background immersed in the liberal arts and theology, I find daily life as simultaneously predictable and no, something fascinating and yet that often creates apprehension. As myContinue reading “From Kent State to South Minneapolis”