Monthly Archives: February 2011

I started out with nine or ten students in my class this semester. One of them never showed. When I called roll on the first day, a Thursday, he wasn’t there. When I opened the newspaper Saturday morning, I found … Continue reading →

A half-moon hangs high in the sky above the row of frost-covered pines that line out from the shed, running along the low slope toward the road. Its soft halo pales in the thin blue veil of night leaching its … Continue reading →

After dismissing my Careers in Sports and Fitness class at 1:20 yesterday afternoon, I asked, "Do any of you want to help me eat a pizza?" They looked at me, then one another, but none of them said anything. Darrius … Continue reading →

There are those who go to church on a Sunday morning with an eager expectancy. They are quite confident that they will experience the presence of God, sense the leading of the Holy Spirit. They will exult in praise and … Continue reading →

Before his presentation to my Careers in Sports and Fitness class, Rick and I sat in a booth, eating burgers and fries and sharing stories. I asked him if he had ever seen circumstances that he couldn’t explain working together … Continue reading →

The warm air rolled in over the cold ground and snow, settling into a dense fog that waited for us in early morning. We hoped it would lift by mid-morning, that chilling gray disappearing into the brilliance of a sunny … Continue reading →

People write to me from time to time to let me know they liked a particular piece. Sometimes, someone will say that it was exactly what he or she needed for that day, a lift in a dark time. There … Continue reading →

The story you are about to read is completely true. Not even the names have been changed to protect the innocent… or the guilty. She wanted some time to spend with her adult son and their favorite spot was a … Continue reading →

My breath pushes out in front of me like the musings of a juvenile dragon not yet grown to fire. I pretend that you can know how cold it is by how far out the mist extends. I suspect, though, … Continue reading →

We sit in the front room, sharing coffee and ourselves. I ask each elder about his own journey, his own background. The oldest of the group grew up here in one congregation and having been active in another for nearly … Continue reading →