One of the great challenges for me in these past several years – and particularly the last 6 months – has been staying positive, hopeful, and encouraged. The US President’s advisors, early in the President’s term told us, there are “alternative facts.” This phrase is simply nonsense describing a public culture of official lying…about everything….
Our daughter-in-law’s mother, Mary, is a high school Advanced Placement American History teacher. She is also a person with a passionate interest in researching family histories. Mary has been researching ours. Her research has been proving to be an emotional and informative experience for me. Among other things, I have gone “over the river and…
In the late fall of 1967 I was in the process of completing my first year of college. Just before Christmas of that year – along with the rest of the members of the Mount Union College Choir (now The University of Mount Union) – I was a part of a concert tour through the southern…
The Plain Dealer’s front page for this past Sunday, June 21st , carried thisheadline for a story below the fold. “Ohio’s Legislature Has Been Roiledby Differences.” Notice of such division, particularly in a legislativebody, is not news! One could fill in the name of nearly any public orprivate entity and a similar story of progress-halting…
In 1773 an English poet named William Cowper wrote a poem entitled,“Light Shining Out of Darkness.” He wrote the piece as he was comingout of a deep depression that included his own attempted suicide. I bet you know the first lines of his poem. They are these: “God works ina mysterious way; his wonders to…
It is a dangerous time in America. We are united, not by our liberty, opportunities, happiness and sense of justice for ALL, but by our anger and outrage that such bedrock, foundational principles are just not so for every citizen of this nation. More on this matter of anger and outrage just a bit later in…
As I write this blog it is a perfect storm. The weather is terrible. It is cold again and raining…HARD. The late May days of warm sun are few and seemingly far between. Here I am, just like so many of you, stuck at home doing my sequestered part to stop the spread of a…
Over a decade ago I started to wear hearing aids. Like everything else in life that is worthwhile and productive, hearing devices create a learning curve to achieve desired results. The hearing devices I wear to cope with the challenges of single-sided deafness have audible signals which let me know when it is time to…
The national news focus in recent days often broadcasts pictures of people demanding that “stay-at-home” and business shut-down orders in response to Covid-19 be lifted. In Harrisburg, PA, part of the protest gatherings shown on news clips included a green, tractor-trailer cab helping to tie up traffic and displaying a sign which read, “Jesus is…
I remember when I was a “first responder.” I remember when I was certified to be a part of those individuals who were providing an “essential service.” I remember when an acute, community need would be present, such as a house fire, and I would be called out to perform the essential service for which…