I have been home since the beginning of March. Businesses are just now beginning to reopen – gradually, carefully. Hopefully, soon we can all get back to normal. But what will normal be? And what about the artists?
Community
Down the Shore
In the Carolinas, summer means “Going To The Beach,” but in New Jersey, the idiom is “Down The Shore” (pronounced as one word, “downashoor”). So when our grandson was invited to compete in the 2019 US Sailing Youth Championship, we had the perfect opportunity for a few days down the shore on Long Beach Island.
What Fork To Follow?
In the past 52 months, I’ve written over 200 stories encompassing a bit over 130,000 words, highlighting the choices I and others have made on life’s journey. Even in the course of evolving this website, there were more choices to be made. A lot of forks in the road. And as the late Yankee Hall-of-Famer suggested, I took them. I decided to take one of the forks British writer and lay theologian, C.S. Lewis describes in boarding a bus on a drizzly afternoon and embarking on an incredible voyage through Heaven and Hell, albeit not as dramatic.
All will be Well in the Garden
As we walked to our favorite spot in the park, I told Louisa about the Jerzy Kosinski book, Being There and its protagonist, Chauncey Gardiner, and how he said, “..all will be well in the garden.” She barked in agreement before jumping on the bench. We marveled at the colors’ return, more vibrant than ever this spring. Maybe it was the rain over winter, or perhaps something else. Maybe it was Nancy and Jerry who told the garden it was time to bring back the colors which would bring people back to the park.
This Week’s Post Delayed Due to Weather
Today was to be a big day. It was to be the release of the first chapter of my new book. But I’m choosing to wait.
An Open Letter to Motorists
Driving a car is an important job and demands attention. It’s not a time for eating lunch, fumbling with the radio, or checking who’s liked your last FB post. You’re at the controls of a 4,000 pound rolling machine that, when operated correctly, is a wonderful convenience. But when the operator is distracted, the convenience turns into a weapon – that kills.
Before You Close Your Suitcase – Open Your Heart
I knew about the shortage of houses in El Salvador but what I didn’t know was the culture of the people in this small country with fewer square miles than Massachusetts. I knew about Habitat homes in Charlotte, I’d been working on them for years, but Habitat for Humanity in El Salvador builds differently.
When babies have lockdown drills, we need to make new choices
Nursery schools around the country are concerned that the children in their care might become victims of gun violence. That’s why Erin and Jason’s 15-week old son practicing for the day when a gun wielding terrorist enters his new life. We should be outraged, but we aren’t. Instead, we just accept the inevitability of this kind of violence. That makes us as guilty as any perpetrator.
Bikes of Color
Move over Portland. The race for the most bicycle friendly place to live has now gotten tighter with the “bikes of color” in Charlotte. These bikes are everywhere and their bright colors look good in a town known more for pinstripes than pastels.
Today He’s Clean and He’s Sober
Todd Hastings was in lock down at a city hospital where he’d been for nine months after a massive stroke from Wernicke’s encephalopathy. His years of substance abuse, along with excessive drinking, had led to a thiamine deficiency, that brought on his stroke the night he was arrested. Fortunately, the officer called paramedics instead of simply throwing him in the drunk tank. After almost a year in Carolina Medical Center, with most of his memory lost in the damaged areas of his brain, Todd started his eight-year trip to recovery.