Let’s do another post on my high school days or maybe I should say where I lived during my high school days. As I mentioned before I went to a Catholic school from the first through the seventh grade. So, I was primarily taught by nuns and priests. I have mentioned before that my mom deserted my dad, brother, and me when I was in the sixth grade. Soon after that dad could no longer afford the mortgage payments on our house. He did manage to sell it for a small profit and then we moved to a rented farmhouse … Continue reading High School Memories…..

I believe that Jesus meant us to be humble rather than proud. I believe that Jesus meant us to be selfless rather than selfish. I believe that humility and compassion are the two most important things all Christians must strive to. Everything else is small stuff. Continue reading I Believe

The above title is somewhat of a shocker from a person like me who is reflecting on his retirement years. So, let me finish the sentence here. Retirement is a meaningless void until you make it otherwise. The second part of the sentence definitely changes the first. Yes, retirement does usually clean off the blackboard of life so that it is ready for a new agenda. We no longer have the long string of responsibilities that tied us to a job for so many years. For the most part we are free to re-invent ourselves in a different light. That … Continue reading Retirement is a Meaningless Void….

“Stuff” has been on my mind lately so I pulled out a November 2008 blog post on one of my other blogs and re-posted it below. I am in the process of cleaning out my barn and it is loaded with stuff (shame on me!!). Sometimes I would just like to throw it all away and start over again; maybe this time I could refrain from the temptation of accumulating it all over again. But I kind of doubt it. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> November 2008 Ok this maybe anti-American but Jesus was definitely anti-stuff.  When Jesus sent out his disciples to spread … Continue reading Stuff

We often have casual conversations about the weather over our back fences or to people we are not intimately familiar with. When we can’t think of anything else to say we talk about the weather! Well, I seem to be in one of those funks where words and not coming easily right now so let’s talk about the weather. Is it just me or has this some been an unusually hot one! I know as I am getting older I can’t seem to take the heat as I once did. When I was in high school I worked summers putting … Continue reading Let’s talk about the weather….

I have been having some pretty grumpy days lately so I find it necessary to revisit the issue of happiness. We all want to be happy especially in our retirement years. The pursuit of happiness is even in our country’s founding documents. Happiness is more than a feeling; it is actually much more a choice. We all have known people who seem to be grumpy and unhappy no matter what their circumstances are. They seem to just refuse to be happy. To many of them the government is the enemy who steals their happiness. For others they refuse to be … Continue reading Choose to be Happy..

We recently spent a glorious three days on Mackinac Island in upper Michigan. One of the unique things about the island is that there are no motorized vehicles on it. Transportation is by either horse, bicycle, or on foot. We stayed at the Island House hotel and besides for some pretty poor service in the dining room during a dinner hour our stay there was  fantastic. The food at the hotel was great but I guess the waiters were either poorly trained or just overloaded the night we choose to dine there.  My favorite dining spot proved to be Millies … Continue reading Mackinac Island, MI

I believe that meeting human needs should be more important than maintaining religious institutions. I believe that peace should be more important than power. I believe in the authority of the words of Jesus in the Bible over those of even His most inspired followers. And the journey goes on…. Continue reading I Believe…

Of course being totally deaf as I am means that I can no longer hear the noises around me. Sometimes that is a good thing. I no longer hear the screaming kid at the table next to me in a restaurant. I am somewhat oblivious to the constant chatter of people on cell phones always around me. The last five years of my corporate life was living in a cubicle. Most people complained about them as you can hear conversations, coughs and other things from several cubicles around you. I was one of the few who really liked my cubicle. … Continue reading Deafness and Danger

I have been away from my computer for a while.  Yvonne and I spent a glorious week at Mackinac Island. I will be sharing pictures of that soon but right now let’s finish up the current series of DC and the area.  This picture and the one following them are of Williamsburg VA also taken in 1988. I have been there several times before and after this series was taken. It is one of my favorite places to visit. Continue reading Williamsburg VA…

Sorry for not saying something earlier but I have been away from my computer for a while. Yvonne and I took a week vacation to northern Michigan starting  Labor day weekend. We spent three glorious days on Mackinac Island. It was simply wonderful to not see a single motorized vehicle for all that time. Even though I am deaf cars and such still make quite a bit of noise at least in my mind. In place of the cars and trucks were one and two real horse powered carts and wagons and then there were bicycles . I will be … Continue reading Been Away for a while….

Here is an exert from a 1983 article in Sojourner Magazine written by Elsa Tamez. It speaks to my questions as to why God is silent so often in our lives. GOD’S SILENCE is mysterious. Sometimes it fills us with fright and paralyzes us in the face of the legion of devils that squeezes out the life of the people. But without this silence of God, we can’t become men and women. When God speaks all the time, people become deaf. They don’t hear the cry of the poor and of those who suffer. They become full; they no longer walk … Continue reading The Silence of God

Don’t get fixated on one particular thing. One of my favorite books is “1,000 Places to Go in the U.S. before you Die”. As the title indicates there is a list of 1,000 places in the U.S. that you can visit. To me retirement years is that time when you can accomplish many of the things you have put off. I strongly believe that being the Jack of all trades in my retirement years is much better than spending all my time to be the master of one thing. So, my advice is as the red letters above say don’t … Continue reading Retirement Don’ts

My wife comes from northern Wisconsin and anyone who knows the area knows that is paper country. I think when you are born in that territory something is put into your DNA related to paper? Before I was married I usually went through a roll of toilet paper every month or so and a box of tissue would last at least six months. After I found my soul mate and got married that condition would drastically change! Our first shopping cart as husband and wife was filled to overflowing with paper products. After almost twenty five years of marriage I … Continue reading Paper Products….