Jun 26, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
“Thousands of people have talent. I might as well congratulate you for having eyes in your head. The one and only thing that counts is: Do you have staying power.” I thought of this word by the playwright Noel Coward when I read the story of Wilma Rudolph. As a child...
Jun 20, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
Age is an issue at all times of our life. In fact, age is an issue of life because our aging determines in large part the pattern of our lives. A friend told me this story recently. A seven-year-old girl was sitting on her grandmother’s lap. As the little girl...
Jun 13, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
Facebook can be a bane or a blessing. I could say that differently: Facebook can be a blessing or a curse. Without getting into details about why bane rather than blessing, I think it sounds better, and curse sounds so harsh, I received an email a few days ago that...
Jun 8, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
Two news items today, June 8th, got my immediate attention. Former Kansas resident Allison Ficke-Ekren pleaded guilty to leading an ISIS women’s battalion. A former teacher, she converted to Islam and left the U.S. She has been training women and girls (including her...
Jun 4, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
Far be it for me to say or write anything that would glorify war. I’m not a pacifist, but probably an “almost one.” I regularly read the newspaper and listen to the news find out what is going on in Ukraine. The war there has the attention of the world. Most everyone...
May 29, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
Some time ago Life magazine carried an essay and picture series entitled “Strange Birds That Cannot Fly.” The article tells the fascinating story of a group of strange-looking birds, with curious names like kiwi and cassowary and emu, which constitute one of the...
