The gift of imperfection

The church sanctuary was cool yesterday morning, good news given the large number of people attending the first official service in our new building, but not good news for my flute. I’d warmed up and rehearsed with the accompanist, though we weren’t playing with the...

Taming the shrew

Springtime brings flowers and critters back to Vanaprastha. Keith and I are seeing creeping phlox, bluebells and fothergilla, skinks, tiger swallowtails and hummingbirds. But no shrews except Katherina, the Shrew in Shakespeare’s so-named play, which Keith and I saw...

Spring Cleaning

One evening in the mid-90s, I sat in the balcony of McFarland Auditorium on the SMU (Southern Methodist University) campus in Dallas, listening to Paleoanthropolgist Donald Johanson. Back in the 70’s, Johanson had discovered the hominid fossil of an australopithecine...

Faking it

Our real estate agent Phil Bolin sends out a newsletter with timely financial and personal advice, the most recent of which was about giving thanks. The enclosed tip sheet “Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude” listed 9 Ways to Count Your Blessings, the last of which...

Pride

Last Thanksgiving, I wrote about pride and humility. Today, with yet another graduation speech trending on the Internet, I’m thinking about self-conceit in a different context.   Earlier this month, Wellesley High School English teacher David McCullough,...