just enough light

The parable of the Good Samaritan was one of the suggested texts from the church lectionary this past Sunday. Most churchgoers know the story from Luke’s gospel of the unlikely helper of the guy who was attacked, beaten, and left for dead in the ditch. “Who is my neighbor?” is the question raised by this […]

I watched a man help a woman identify which stop she needed as the DFW Skylink moved from terminal to terminal. The woman was Asian, 40ish, carrying two large bags. Not suitcases, but handled bags with handles tied to keep things in. It became clear to me that she did not speak much English and […]

Someone (who will remain nameless) pointed out to me that my posts during the 6 weeks of Lent were not particularly religious, with very little mention of God or Jesus, and no reference to the resurrection. Guilty as charged. The reasons are difficult to explain, but important. I came from a religious tradition that promoted […]

During Lent I have been reading Parker Palmer’s On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old. Early in the book Parker quotes St. Benedict, “Daily keep your death before your eyes.” This may sound like morbid advice, but the intention is anything but morbid. We are admonished to remember our impermanence and the […]

Today marks the first anniversary of the death of my friend, Ray Boehmer. I went to the Taylor County Tap House at 3:00 to have a bitter IPA in his memory. I was joined 1000 miles away at Riggs Brewery by Rob Money, a friend I got to know through Ray. Having a beer with […]

My son’s dog, Clara, recently provided me with some useful perspective about pain and suffering. During my recent visit to the Midwest, I spent 4 days in Urbana. I timed the visit to be there when Clara was scheduled for surgery to remove her right rear leg. She was injured when she was younger, and […]

Much has transpired since my last Lenten entry almost 3 weeks ago. During that time I spent 8 days in St. Louis helping my dad prepare to move. I also visited my kids and some friends in Urbana, IL for a few days. During my time in Urbana, I mentioned to Dennis, a friend of […]

I’ve thought about my last entry about giving up childhood fears. I don’t think the goal is to give up childhood fears. The goal is to give up the addictive thinking that those fears produce. I suspect we all have that addictive thinking. Here’s what I mean. As I described a couple of days ago, […]

I spent the first part of my day traveling by air from Abilene to St. Louis. I don’t much like traveling by air, but it is so often the quickest and most convenient way to go. Traveling by air brings up all kinds of control issues for me. Of course, control issues are usually grounded […]

Several years ago, when I began considering an early retirement, I was not too worried about being bored. I had already made the decisions that I wanted to spend much of my time working as a handyman, for myself and others. I also wanted to write. My bigger concern was the idea that I would […]