A Moment on a Plane
I find myself in plenty of airport and on plenty of planes. And so it was that I was chatting with a seat mate the other day about America’s favorite topic du jour…politics. The flight […]
The Golden Ratio
We belong to our parents until we belong to ourselves. We eat their food, wear the clothes they drape around us and listen to the music that comes out of their sound systems. Their tastes […]
How to Be a KID
If you’ve had a relatively loving family background, remember the delight in just being a kid. No thoughts of comparisons; times of playing without thoughts of performing. There was an unconscious delight in just being […]
My Sins
This is about childhood, the notions of Sin, Love, God—and a brief comment on the all-male priesthood…send hate mail straight to my trash folder, please.
I’ve given formal retreats and provided direction for older men and […]
Keep Talking
No doubt, you’re still shell-shocked as the economy has clawed its way out of the recession and into revery. But if you cut advertising dollars, you probably hindered the very rebound you so desperately needed. […]
Starry-Eyed
I wanted to be Brenda Starr when I was little. Before going to school, I’d grab the paper and read the comics. There would be Brenda starr, the only female I knew who wasn’t a […]
Avoiding Mob Rule
I’m not going to engage, I say to myself like a mantra. I was in a strange predicament that I’d never before experienced. It was only until I traveled with him in the American South, […]
Remove Your Rose-Colored Glasses
Have you picked up on people talking in terms of “us” and “them”? During tough times, when a country is in a particularly trying state of affairs, some folks tend to look of a scapegoat. […]
Our Beautiful Neighbor
Nothing renews one’s faith in capitalism like visiting a communist country. Cuba, for all the praise some foreign visitors heap upon it, is no exception. Certainly you can’t visit the island, as I did recently, […]
Toes in the Sand, Head in the Clouds
Why am I so captivated by the beach? Sure, you could give balmy beach answers, waxing warmly about sand and summer fun. Instead, I think of stories of my life, love and lessons learned at […]
Behind His Smile
A folklorist, a cartoonist, a psychologist, a lawyer, a columnist, and an icon of American letters walk into a bar…what happens next is unclear. I know it’s not funny, but then flatulence has amused humankind […]
His Rescue Cat
Upright Hallmark cards and lasagna-stained paper plates cluttered Grandma’s kitchen table. I pulled up the sleeve of Grandpa’s old gray role then let it fall back upon my arm. Bare feet tapped cold white and […]
Ironing
Today, I tackled my own ironing. Not much these days, but though it’s an infrequent chore I still put it off to the dry cleaner or housekeeper as much as possible. Once started I got […]
The Gift of Meditation
Intelligence isn’t equal to development; intelligence has to be developed. Just because you’re smart doesn’t automatically make you a perfect or even brilliant human being. Intelligence is a potential, a capacity, and that capacity need […]
Nerds Rule
Nerd culture; what does it mean to self-identify as a nerd? What I’m about to write is half lighthearted frivolity and half serious…but really, what are the legitimate descriptors of a true nerd? Everyone can […]
Political Car Sickness
If you’re, like me, one of the people who ingests news with your morning coffee (or reads those banner headlines that pop up on your phone a hundred or so times a day), you too—whatever […]
