When I was in the fourth grade, one of my best friends was a boy named Joe Bryant, whose family rented a farmhouse southwest of Danville on Mackey Road. He […]
Tag: away
Things We Got Just Right (Innovation over Tradition)
My phone rang not long ago. It was a Quaker calling from out-of-state, whom I had met several years ago at a conference. He called because their Quaker meeting was […]
Things We Got Just Right (The Triumph of Good)
Joan and I went on vacation this past week, meeting up with our son Sam and his family in Grand Lake, Colorado just outside the Rocky Mountain National Park, where […]
Things We Got Just Right (Sacramental Living)
When our children were born, Joan bought a camera and started taking pictures. Pictures of everything—vacations, hikes, family gatherings, birthday parties, first haircuts, first days of school, holidays, thousands of […]
What in the World Were We Thinking (Adversarial Religion) Philip Gulley
I remember when I was in the sixth grade and my best friend was a boy named Joe who was a Jehovah’s Witness. I was still Catholic and believed Joe […]
What In the World Were We Thinking? (Disownment for Marrying a Non-Quaker)
One of the things Joan and I have always enjoyed is antiquing, so when we renovated her family’s farmhouse, and had to furnish it, we went to Gilley’s Antique Mall […]
What In the World Were We Thinking? (A Dress Code? Seriously?)
The older I get, the more I look forward to summer, and this summer especially. It’s been several years since I’ve been to the state fair, and there’s something I’ve […]
What in the World Were We Thinking? (Silence is Good for Everyone)
A friend phoned me recently, asking if he could borrow our Ford Flex. He didn’t say why he needed it, and I didn’t want to appear nosy, because if there’s […]
Quaker Qualities (Not Simplicity, but Generosity)
When I was 32 years old, I received a phone call from the Friends World Committee for Consultation, asking if I would serve on their Executive Committee. This was a […]
Quaker Qualities (Consistent Compassion)
This past week, I was at the bank and noticed the young woman working as a teller had her preferred pronouns, “she/her,” written on her name tag, just after her […]