I was thinking this week of Mr. Hoban, an elderly neighbor of ours when I was growing up on Broadway Street, there in Danville. He was a veteran of two […]
Tag: First
Do’s and Don’ts In a Time of Change (8)
I’ve been thinking about Georgie Baker, who last week shared the happy news that she was wrapping up her degree in social work. Georgie was two-years-old when we first met. […]
Do’s and Don’ts In a Time of Change (2)
When I was 16, I was hired, along with 39 other teenagers, to work at the Indiana Dunes Lakeshore for the summer. It was my first time away from home, […]
Things We Got Just Right (Universality Over Nationality)
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 […]
Things We Got Just Right (Community Confirmation)
I was down in southern Indiana a while back, riding motorcycles with my friend Dave, the newest member of the Quaker Oatlaws Motorcycle Club. We stopped for lunch in New […]
Things We Got Just Right (Spirit Over Bible)
Earlier this summer, Joan had gone with Madeline to the store, so I was lying on the couch, praying, when I heard a knock at our back door. No one […]
Things We Got Just Right (Vesting Power in People, Not Positions)
When I first came to Fairfield, I had a bad case of the big head. I’d had several books published, still had hair, was married to a striking, intelligent woman, […]
Things We Got Just Right (Equality Over Cultural Norms)
Several years ago, a man I know was told he was dying, which of course we all are, but his death was sooner than he had anticipated. Though well-off, he’d […]
Things We Got Just Right (We Value Experience Over Belief)
This happened maybe 30 years ago, when I attended a conference for Quaker pastors down in Orlando. Someone had the bright idea to get all the Quaker pastors in America […]
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 […]