Mom was a pretty good pianist. I have no idea for how long she took lessons, but after she graduated from high school, she didn’t walk away from her music. She must have played for her own enjoyment and that of others. By the time I came along, she was 39-years-old. I remember from my…
The art of letter writing is often a bemoaned lost skill. We look at history and see the deep value of handwritten, personal letters between leaders and their spouses. They give us insight into these people and their relationships which would not otherwise be chronicled. It wasn’t that many years ago when people still wrote…
I’ve never been fond of drinking games. It’s not that I didn’t, in my younger days, put away more than my share of alcoholic beverages, but I haven’t needed to add to my youthful ignorance of what the results of that drinking might be. The first such game I even can think of was based…
The folks gathered around the table were in various stages of homelessness. Completely homeless. Transitioning to homeless. Transitioning out of homelessness. With homes and now back to sitting among their friends and just listening and being supportive. There were those of us who can only imagine what it must be like to be homeless. There…
As Terry and I have ventured out on long road trips, we have invented a game to while away the hours. It first came to us as we were crossing the vast expanse of pretty flat southern Minnesota along I-90. The road signs caught my attention – the road signs naming the towns at each…
Probably two decades ago, Terry and I and a dear friend visiting from Missouri headed to the local marina and climbed aboard our pontoon docked there. The day was pristine. The sun was shining. The temperatures were warm but not hot. It was just comfortable. As we headed out into the upper Missouri River, we…
We had to be there. That’s what I thought last year when my “home team,” the Kansas City Royals, played in the World Series. But “being there” in Kansas City is a much different experience than being there in Chicago for the Chicago Cubs World Series. Wrigley Field, you see, is located in a neighborhood…
I heard recently of yet another colleague who is moving on from his church. I don’t think he had a call from another church when he made his decision to leave. Since that time, a church in another part of the country has determined, assumedly in consultation with God, that he is the right fit…
No doubt it had something to do with the ambiance. Ordinarily, I’m not a fan of Milwaukee as a city. The architecture is glorious. It has a world class art museum. The county museum is exciting and well presented. Miller Park is a great venue for baseball. There are lots of fun things to do…
I was tempted to observe today that in Wisconsin, any excuse for a party will do. A party with beer. A party with loud music. But whether one thinks such a party is in good or poor taste, I must say that Octoberfest in any number of Wisconsin communities is truly a reason for a…