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: often
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 (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 […]
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? (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? (A Distrust of Leaders)
Some time ago, I wrote an essay about the abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. It got published and circulated around, and made its way back to Danville, to the […]
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 […]
How to Die Before You’re Dead (11)
I know those people who were counting on a stunning come-from-behind victory for Vivek Ramaswamy are surely disappointed after his departure from the presidential race this week. I think we […]