Years ago, in the mid-nineteen seventies, while still an administrator at a local university, I decided to enter an annual literary contest open only to faculty members. There were many entries and they were judged by a selected group of our peers. The top three entries were recognized and their pictures and the title of…
On Saying No!
When little children are tired they may be irritable and through their crying say, “No!” to everything they are asked to do. Parents may become frustrated with that disagreeable performance with the results that the child may, by sensing the parents frustration, be taught that saying “No!” is not an acceptable way to behave in…
On Courage To Become
Ordinarily when we think of courage we think of a soldier going into battle or a fireman daring to go into a burning house to save a life or a family pet. It takes courage to face danger head on and danger can have many faces. But we don’t usually think of courage when we…
On Uniqueness
It has always amazed me to think of all the ways we, as individuals, are the same and yet so very different. When I am able to sit down at night and relax a little I enjoy watching the CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) shows on TV. Though I realize that they take license with much…
On Normal
Most everyone wants to be perceived as normal until they find out exactly what that term means. Sometimes words don’t mean what we think they mean. Normal is perceived by most people as somewhat of an average Joe. A few of the synonyms include: commonplace, unexceptional and even ‘garden variety.’ If I were to overhear…
On Fear
The author, Dave Barry quipped “All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears—of the dark, of falling, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, or speaking before a Rotary Club and of these words: ‘Some Assembly Required.’” We all have fears of something and that something changes as we age….
On Life as a Process
Life has been described in many different ways by many people such as this unknown author’s statement, “Life… is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming—WOW—What a ride!”…
On Silence
As I was contemplating the word ‘silence,’ it occurred to me that even thou my mouth was closed, my mind was making conversation. It was carrying on a conversation with reason on one side and rationale on the other. Is one actually silent when their mind is working? It seems that, at times, I can…
On Being An Example
We are all an example, of one kind or another, to someone or another. In filling the various roles that we play in life, we could find ourselves becoming a different type of example to those we associated with in each role. By roles I mean: father, son, mother, daughter, sibling, student, teacher, employer, employee,…
On Searching For Beauty
While having breakfast with my wife the other morning, we were looking out the window, and one of us commented on how summer is slowly turning into fall. The thought that the fall leaves with their beautiful and varied colors would soon grace our eyes is something we always look forward to. Then the leaves…