by Carole Duff | May 12, 2014 | Family, Nature, Writing and Reading |
When we were growing up, my father told us the story of the Optimist and the Pessimist – the Maine farm boy version. I can see my father’s tall-drink-of-water frame sitting in the captain’s chair at the head of the dining room table, his large hands taking his...
by Carole Duff | May 5, 2014 | Family, Writing and Reading |
“What kind of car does your family drive?” the teacher asked. Maybe her question came from a social studies lesson, or something else. It was the 1950’s in rural-suburban Woodbridge, Connecticut outside New Haven. Each student in my older sister Jane’s second grade...
by Carole Duff | Apr 21, 2014 | Faith, Family, Writing and Reading |
“I used to think people were looking at me when I walked into a room,” my son David said during his visit this past weekend. “But people weren’t really paying attention to me; they were thinking about themselves like I was. People like to talk about themselves,...
by Carole Duff | Apr 14, 2014 | Faith, Writing and Reading |
In Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak told the story of a young boy named Max. Dressed as a wolf, Max misbehaved and was sent to his room. There he had a temper tantrum and wound up in a mysterious place with beasts called Wild Things – monsters. Childhood...
by Carole Duff | Apr 7, 2014 | Faith, Family, Writing and Reading |
In The Active Life, Parker Palmer wrote, “Much human action is laced with the problem of pride…. Prideful action is often followed by a fall. But we make a mistake when we try to avoid that fall…” In my twenties and thirties, along with my teaching career,...
by Carole Duff | Mar 31, 2014 | Faith, Writing and Reading |
A few days ago, I travelled to DC and Baltimore to visit friends. While sharing thoughts about life changes, I mentioned Parker Palmer’s The Active Life. Some books are worth revisiting, and for me Palmer’s book is one of them. I first read The Active Life...
