Category: Current Events

Elizabeth and I are leaving The Villages this morning right after I hit the post button. We’ve got four days of travel sandwiched around three nights on the road. I can’t say why we’re going, only that we are. What I can say is that we’re on a mission. If all goes as planned, you’ll …

I’m not sure if you’ve ever been on a road trip, but I have, and I’ve written about several over the years. My first real adventure, not counting trips with my parents, happened the weekend I turned eighteen. I went on an overnight trip with Bruce Henderlight, a coworker from the grocery store where we …

A Story of Two Neighbors: MAGA and Woke Rob lived on the east side of the lake, in a tidy yellow house with a flagpole out front. His neighbor, Maya, lived on the west side, in a cottage with a rainbow welcome mat and a small garden sign that read “Justice Grows Here.” They waved …

I went to Chautauqua, New York last week with Road Scholars to study gathering.  Barbara and I lead a group of gatherers twice a week called Singles New Beginnings. She’s been to Chautauqua twice before, serving as the week’s minister twenty and twenty-five years ago. I’m a newbie. It’s not something I would have chosen …

Lately, I’ve been revisiting some of my older stories, looking for ones that might fit into the new book I’m putting together and others I can share with my Singles New Beginnings group. Barbara and I have found that several of my past writings spark great class discussions. People connect with them because they’ve been …

I’ve been checking my email a few times a day ever since I first started using it, and that’s been a long time. After retiring and moving into consulting, I developed a set routine—morning, noon, and night—especially when recruiting business partners, students, and school staff for the summer program. I didn’t want to miss anything, …

After posting my story titled, We Chatted a Bit, one of my readers, Carole, suggested I look up the word “sonder”, so I did. It’s defined as “the sudden realization that every stranger is living a life as rich, complex, and vivid as your own.” John Koenig, creator of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, coined …

I went to buy flowers the other day, but when I got to the market, the long-lasting ones I usually pick looked like they were on their last legs. I was frustrated because I always go for the tight-budded Alstroemeria.  They’re known for their longevity. If I choose them well, they take a day or …

My Singles New Beginnings class is taking the next few weeks to talk about friends and friendships.  I led Wednesday’s class and during our discussion I spoke briefly about the neighborhood I grew up in. Everyone knew everyone. The kids all played together, went to the same school and hung out in the park at …

When I first started writing this blog, I imagined it might become a place where readers could not only follow my stories but maybe share a few of their own. I pictured a place where people could talk about the moments that shaped them, the lessons they learned and the memories they still carry. I …