July 1 , 2023 /

THE KITCHEN FLOOR

Our kitchen floor at the 2-story house on Wayne Avenue was a shining reflection of cleanliness.  My mother held cleanliness next to godliness in her list of values.  When she visited us in later years she would voluntarily started cleaning out the refrigerator.  She would bring a green specimen of something growing on the back

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June 24 , 2023 /

…AND KEEPS ON TICKING

Another day, another year and what to make of that?   I make S. crazy with my take on birthdays, and many things.  I see things differently.  I try to explain my rationale and she isn’t persuaded. It makes sense to me. That’s good enough.  Here it is for your consideration.  You will understand and

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June 20 , 2023 /

SUMMER SOLSTICE 2023

(Spoiler alert:  This post is compiled from previous, similar ones written for this celebration)   Wednesday, June 21, marks this annual event known as Solstice, Summer in the northern hemisphere, Winter in the southern hemisphere.  Literally, it’s the moment when the “sun stands still” before it starts back in the other direction and for those

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June 15 , 2023 /

THE WISDOM OF CHILDREN

A 3-year-old, Max, asks his grandfather, “Why are you an old man?” Countless children offer keen observations, ask surprising, thoughtful, penetrating questions, filled with curiosity and wonder. As parents, grandparents, teachers and friends, we would do well to seize that opportunity to have a conversation and explore some of the big why’s of life, as

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June 6 , 2023 /

I AM ONE

I am one. I am one of 2, she and I; one of 4, my family of origin;  one of 5, my nuclear family; one of 28,  my extended family; one of 120, among my colleagues in one of my early jobs; one of 165, my high school class of 1955;, one of 10,000, in

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May 25 , 2023 /

EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL RELEVANCE

I heard a friend use the phrase “internal relevance” and I realized it as something I had not thought much about, at least not consciously.  The person using the phrase was in search of “internal relevance” as a way of being in the world that was authentic.  He was tired of trying to be someone

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