You may have noticed my continuing fascination with words, especially their derivations and their usage. Today I extend my wordsmithing smile in your direction with a possible gift: How to craft *analogies that delight and elucidate. Ones that last…! I’m fond of linguistic truisms. One of the most reliable: Analogies and metaphors enrich communications. Like an opossum that won’t loosen itsMORE...
Slow catharsis
At various occasions in my life, 1catharsis has been a useful concept. At one time in my earlier decades—lasting maybe ten years or so—this word characterized a decision-making process about my 2eventual lifework. What I remember is that the process took awhile. It was slow. The swirl of colliding emotions had to settle down, to get sorted out. Changing circumstances, contexts and other realitiesMORE...
In God We Trust
I may be less trusting than I used to be. A variety of recent trust-shaking incidents has brought me towards that frame of mind: The emergence of a conspiracy-dependent quasi-religion fueled by prevarication; a sophisticated personal computer hack; violence-prone truth-deniers; the news that USPS blue mailboxes are being robbed of mail in check-washing schemes and misinformation/phishing messagesMORE...
Don’t bet on it….
(The following comments come from our years living in South Lake Tahoe, CA, where the casino-oriented culture correlated with a dismal social landscape that included the highest per capita crime rate in the State of California.) Recent news headlines have announced these statistics for Illinois: In October, sports betting surpassed the $1 billion mark. The state’s share: Over $560 millionMORE...
New theological thought
Based on 1 personal experience, I am happy to announce that I have solved a theological matter that has aggravated amateur scholars like me for centuries. I am talking, of course, about St. Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” (See 2 Corinthians 2:7ff for background.) Simply stated, what Paul experienced was a medial 2meniscus tear in his knee. This makes sense. Although 3some theologians have dancedMORE...
Helper and helped one
(Because of my advanced MO degree, I am a bona fide Master of the Obvious. That’s why this entry will likely tell you something you already know. In this case, what’s obvious is this: That although I think of myself as helpful, I’m probably also someone who other people think could use some help!) For a good share of my life—continuing into these later decades—I’ve thought of myself as someoneMORE...
Partners in recall
I enjoy leisurely conversations with other elders. Sometimes in our chats, a word or phrase can suddenly become unavailable. The mutual sharing can come to a halt. One among us seems caught in temporary forgetfulness. At those moments, embarrassment can insert itself into the relationship. When that phenomenon lasts for more than a few seconds, the rest of us wonder: “How can we help?” OneMORE...
Annas among us
Standing at the center of the events surrounding the circumcision and naming of Jesus is an elderly woman. (See Luke 2:36-38 for the story.) What’s perhaps overlooked about the narrative: She’s identified as “the prophet Anna.” At 84 years of age, this devout woman entered the ritual scene that had just featured a song by the “good man” Simeon. Her reaction to Jesus’ presence befitted herMORE...
Living the descant
Living joyfully through a variety of worship services this past holiday season, I realized how many descants I’ve heard during that time. As you might imagine, “This got me to thinking….” In its original Latinate form, a descant was a cantus (voice) set apart. Connected loosely to the emergence of polyphonic (many-voices) musical styles, the descant was a melody—usually sung or played at aMORE...