Someone to Believe

Hello from a Mediterranean Coffee Shop, We are down to hours left in the class portion of the semester and finals begin on Monday. I remember customarily feeling both anticipation and exhaustion as I faced the impending end of every semester. Part of it was pouring everything I had most of the time into everyContinue reading “Someone to Believe”

Lacking Friendly Skies – Grateful for Friendly People

Hello well before 5:00 a.m., I am in the Charlotte/Douglas Airport after arriving and waiting until almost midnight before getting to a hotel. I was asleep not quite three hours and then up for a taxi back to the airport. Originally, I was supposed to already be in Costa Rica yesterday, but as noted acrossContinue reading “Lacking Friendly Skies – Grateful for Friendly People”

deoch don doras

Hello from Starbucks in the Commons, We are in the throes of the end of the semester, and I am doing a boatload in individual student conferences. The days have blended together so much that earlier today I was quite sure it was Thursday instead of Wednesday. Part of my cluelessness is the craziness ofContinue reading “deoch don doras”

Learning Moments Rather than Regrets

Hello from the little cabin, The past two days have been filled with laughter, memories, and enjoyment, but also a certain degree of wistfulness. How is it we continue on with our lives and things that had such importance get lost in our busy, scattered living of our lives? How is it that we canContinue reading “Learning Moments Rather than Regrets”

Being an American . . . Not as Easy as Perhaps We Thought

Hello from my study on the acre, As I grew up in the early 6os and into the 70s, certainly our country was coming of age, so to speak. We were in a different world and the United States was understood quite differently than it had been certainly up through the First World War andContinue reading “Being an American . . . Not as Easy as Perhaps We Thought”

Imagining 50 Years

Hello from my porch, When I was 14, I had an opportunity to be a member of the Sioux City Children’s Community Theatre. We were part of a larger group of theatre folks that included adults, but we were also independent. Be that whatever it was, we were a rather motley, mismatched, but open mindedContinue reading “Imagining 50 Years”

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”

Moving Toward a Rhetoric of Hope

Good Saturday Morning, It has been a bit of a crazy week. At this point last weekend, my HP tablet, the university computer, decided (for the second time) to pop the plastic clips that hold one side of the case closed. I believe it is the case of an overheated battery again, causing the caseContinue reading “Moving Toward a Rhetoric of Hope”

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”

Words and the Ethical Dimension of Power

Hello from my study, Another day, more time in front of the computer. More time on the phone. More time on text messaging, and more time trying to manage the needs on both sides of this remote equation. It is sometimes comical and simultaneously touching. It is sometimes tiring and overwhelming; and sometimes it isContinue reading “Words and the Ethical Dimension of Power”