My _Family Circus_ Life

Hello on a humid August afternoon, I am regularly told I’ve led an extraordinary life, from students asking where I am jet-setting off next to regular reactions of surprise or disbelief because of the various experiences I reflect upon as a matter of course; it’s just how my life has unfolded. Certainly, from the outsetContinue reading “My _Family Circus_ Life”

“. . . life to the lees . . . “

Good morning from the darkness of my little corner, I am always amazed by talented people, those who are artistic (e.g. drawing, painting, sculpting, for instance) as I am not particularly talented. I think of a former student who is now an art teacher, and a recent post illustrated (pun intended) how both of herContinue reading ““. . . life to the lees . . . “”

Wishing, Hoping, or Something More

Hello from the cubicle, I have writing a lot about the concepts of hope, its importance to our individual wellbeing, as well as to the importance of it for society in general. What happens when there is a lack of hope or a sense of disillusionment to the level of hopelessness. Certainly as we age,Continue reading “Wishing, Hoping, or Something More”

Sechs Schock und zehn

Hello from my abode, Today would be the birthday of my adopted father’s eldest brother-in-law, Mr. Clare White Swaby. He was born in 1896, and he was the proverbial Sunday dinner guest when I grew up. He was, by any measure or thought, a character. He dropped out of elementary school in 5th grade, butContinue reading “Sechs Schock und zehn”

Why am I Fascinated?

Hello from Main Street, I am back in the only official town in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the place where I first moved in the late summer of 2009. It is a typical Main Street of small town Americana, and like many small towns, it has experienced the growing pains of a changing culture, theContinue reading “Why am I Fascinated?”

At 250 . . . Once, Always

Hello from the corner table, Currently, there are a lot of words tossed around (which is not really anything new, but perhaps different ones) that get used, pushed upon the other, and taken out of context. Or sometimes, thinking about the work of Anthony Giddens, the British social theorist, they take on new meanings. PerhapsContinue reading “At 250 . . . Once, Always”

Upbeat in a Melancholy Way

Hello from Starbucks on a cloudy, overcast, and misty Sunday morning, The annual pilgrimage known as the Bloomsburg Fair has finished its 169 year, and the number of trailers, 5th wheels, food trucks, and other things that make up the week long event that results in cholesterol spikes, diabetic events, food comas, and anything elseContinue reading “Upbeat in a Melancholy Way”

Where you Belong

Hello at the end of Finals Week and Grading, I remember finals weeks as a combination of merely wanting to finish and feeling exhausted while simultaneously seeing it as some sort of proving ground, wondering if I had done the requisite work over the past three months to demonstrate some sense of competency (which isContinue reading “Where you Belong”

Things to Admire

Hello from my kitchen table, I am fixing breakfast, organizing my day, and pondering what sort of things impress me. Throughout my life, as noted so many time, I question or wonder about most everything. Sometimes it gets me in trouble. Sometimes it causes me concern about things that should require little or no thought.Continue reading “Things to Admire”

Gratefulness 40 Years in the Making

Cześć w chłodniejszy poranek z Krakowa, What I have said is “hello on a cooler morning” from the sort of intellectual capital of Poland, the former capitol city, Kraków. It is actually by 7th time to this city of a little over a million people. With sites like Wawel Castle, the picture at the topContinue reading “Gratefulness 40 Years in the Making”