C.S. Lewis wrote, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” Now is the time for New Year’s resolutions. Do you groan inwardly or do you greet this idea with enthusiasm? If you are ready to set some…
At holiday time, there seems to be more frenetic driving on the city streets than ever. People zoom through yellow-to-red lights and block crosswalks in the next block. Quickly changing lanes without signaling is common, while cutting off other cars. On a one-way, three-lane road,…
When I was jogging across Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, I had crossed four of six lanes on the green light when suddenly, a driver in a car zoomed through his red light nearly hitting me in the crosswalk. My life did not flash…
Jesus was a brown-skinned baby born into occupied territory, saved by his loving parents. They fled across a border into a safer country to escape King Herod, who felt his power threatened and who mass-murdered infants. That made Jesus and his parents refugees. As an…
As we gather this Thanksgiving at the table, I am acutely aware of the relatives who will not be there and whom we cannot phone anymore. My throat tightens up and my eyes water. Absence is like a silent presence in the room, when I…
A most amazing video went viral this week following the terrorists’ attacks in Paris. At a memorial site, a father named Angel Le and his little son Brandon were interviewed by a reporter from “Le Petit Journal.” Reporter (R) to Brandon: Do you understand what…
Angus Deaton won a Nobel prize in economics for his study on intricate measures of human well-being, but his latest study has created more buzz than any other published work he has done. What is the topic of his latest study? Since 1999, there is…
I felt positively touched this week by a politician with whom I completely disagreed, until he spoke about addiction. A popular Huffington Post video on Facebook of Chris Christie showed him telling stories about 1) his mother’s addiction to nicotine and eventual lung cancer and…
Today, I am leaving the Big Sky Country of Billings, Montana after staying here for a few days. My father was born here and grew up nearby on the Crow Nation reservation. What impresses me is the huge sky above the plains that nothing really…
In September, an old friend had an emergency surgery, which was quite major. Her primary doctor told her to expect to be back to normal sometime in December. She is slowly healing and eager to be back to her routine life. When I was healing…