When does Autumn Arrive?

Hello on a September afternoon, It is warm and beautiful, with low humidity and a blue sky that seems even more spectacular after two cataract surgeries. Anyone who has experienced the drastic color difference will know what I mean. The changing of seasons, at least in terms of the calendar, are predictable. While the timeContinue reading “When does Autumn Arrive?”

Being Content

Hello from my mini-mini-much less than the Acre, but homey nonetheless, As we finish the week, heading into Labor Day weekend, what is considered the sort of official end of summer is upon us. Where did it go? is a common question as we seem to meander our way through the days, weeks, and months.Continue reading “Being Content”

Who am I? Who are We?

Hello on a beautiful August Sunday afternoon, While we had a somewhat significant rainstorm last night, today is beautiful: partly cloudy with a nice breeze, moderate temperatures and low humidity. Quite ideal for anyone wanting to get outside, moving back into the dorms or their apartment, and merely able to lay back and enjoy aContinue reading “Who am I? Who are We?”

What if . . . Something We Seem Predestined to Ask.

Hello as the beginning of August is beginning to feel like the dog-days-of-summer, While I have heard the phrase numerous times, I knew neither its origin nor its significance overall. I was quite accurate in that it is about the warmest days of summer, and I learned it corresponds the star Canis Major, and itContinue reading “What if . . . Something We Seem Predestined to Ask.”

Episode Two of the Circus

Hello on a Monday afternoon, The week has begun with a plan and some degree of anticipation since I was scheduled for my first of two cataract surgeries this morning. I’ve know for a few years this was on the horizon, but I met that distant boundary was met last September. Unfortunately, the primary providerContinue reading “Episode Two of the Circus”

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”

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”

What Might Have Been

Hello from my small, but comfortable space at the Magee. As I ponder the avenues that are in front of me, and as some of you know, the first 18 months of retirement have been a rollercoaster, I find myself also looking at the paths I have traveled, the choices made, and the consequences ofContinue reading “What Might Have Been”

Wishing or Needing?

Hello from Millworks Coffee Shop, I am in the Quad Cities on the Iowa/Illinois border both to visit family for Thanksgiving as well as complete a major piece of collecting and managing what has been a fragmented first year of retirement. A moment in a coffee shop brings back so many memories from writing aContinue reading “Wishing or Needing?”