Relearning the Value of Physical Work

I was tired. Really tired! I might even have experienced heat exhaustion. Anyway, it was hot, ninety-five degrees to be exact, and I was exhausted. Moving dirt, laying sod and pushing a lawn roller filled with water is hard work even when it is not scorching. But I feel fulfilled… Continue reading

Aunt Berthie

When you get married, you not only marry your wife or your husband, but you are also grafted into each other’s family, and their traditions. One of Patty’s family’s Memorial Day traditions was to visit the various small town cemeteries where loved ones were buried to place flowers on their… Continue reading

A Symbolic Gesture

I can’t say that I wasn’t warned about discussing religion and politics.  A large chunk of the responses I have received when have I written about those topics has been discouraging. It was not because people disagreed with me, but because they obviously did not read the entire post or… Continue reading

Mirror Universe

Plague / Conspiracy Caution / Frivolity  Fear / Foolishness Scientists / Politicians Facts / “News” Reality / Spin Gaff / “Clarification” Understanding / Accusation Poor / Lazy Caring / Bleeding Hearts Honest / Racist  Rule of Law / Trending Topic  Comply / Refuse Rant / Resolve Snarky / Civil Demonize… Continue reading

O, Kenosha

Kenosha, Wisconsin (pop.100,164, about 150,000 with suburbs)) is our nearest city at about 10 minutes away. We are there several times a week. It was a manufacturing city that has successfully re-invented itself as a distribution center and tourist destination. It’s growing. The downtown is rapidly redeveloping and the Lake… Continue reading

Observations

Change We never really know what the future holds. Life can quickly change very unexpectantly. Irony A microscopic virus, a cousin of the common cold, killed thousands, crippled the economy, and confound the nations of the world. Its manner of spreading, coughing and sneezing, and its manner of abatement, handwashing,… Continue reading

Responses

Response: any behavior of a living organism that results from an external or internal stimulus. What do our responses to this pandemic and our staying at home to lessen its impact tell us about ourselves?  Honestly,  I believe we tend to have an initial knee-jerk reaction that is more related to… Continue reading

How Are You Doing?

Our lives have suddenly changed in unexpected ways and it’s been unsettling. Even though we are more separated from one another, we realize that we are all in this together. That fact has generated a spirit of compassion. People are asking one another, “How are you doing?” So, how are… Continue reading

Missing Tony and Charles

The deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Charles Krauthammer may be practically forgotten and long gone from the internet’s trending topics by now. Yet, they deserve to be remembered. They were artists who, to the best of my knowledge, never painted a portrait or sculpted a bust. They used words, reasoning,… Continue reading

Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable

Recently, I was face-to-face with someone I thought highly of and we were in the midst of a serious disagreement about political issues. It has happened several times with several people. While I enjoy a good open discussion, I don’t enjoy these encounters. In these situations, I am usually shocked… Continue reading

Who Can You Believe?

When Fox News anchor Shepard Smith was asked about the opinion side of Fox News in a recent Time Magazineinterview he ruffled some feathers when he replied: “We serve different masters. We work for different reporting chains, we have different rules. They don’t really have rules on the opinion side.… Continue reading

The Pathway Out of Partisanship

Our nation has had only one independent president. That’s right, only one who stayed out of the partisan fray and refused to be locked into a political ideology. He certainly had his principles and stuck to them, yet he understood the value of moderation. While non-partisan, he was far from… Continue reading

It All Comes Down to Relationships

On March 3, 1991, in the wee hours of the morning three friends who had spent the night watching basketball and drinking were speeding on Interstate 210 in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. A California Highway Patrol unit gave chase, but the driver refused to pull over. The… Continue reading

Ditch Digging and Dining Room Tables

Something beautiful happens in ditches and dining rooms. More specifically, it happens when we dig a ditch with another laborer and share our table with another diner. Chip Gains introduced me to that concept. Chip and his wife Joanna are the stars of the hit HGTV show, Fixer Upper. Chip… Continue reading

Do Evangelical Christians Have Any Moral Authority Anymore?

    “After telling me how to live my life, who to love, what to believe, what not to believe, what to do and what not to do and now you sit back and the prostitutes don’t matter? The grabbing the you-know-what doesn’t matter? The outright behavior and lies don’t matter? Just… Continue reading