The skyline of New York City is fading in the blue haze, below and behind me, and I am headed home. Is it possible? I am pretty sure I just vacationed. For decades, when we took a notion to travel (or far more often the case, were compelled by obligation to do so) it was [...]
Well, either they have just returned or will be returning soon to their youthful, almost full-time jobs….school. We may not see school as jobs, but at every stage of life we perform some task that ends in us getting our needs and some of our wants met. In adulthood it is our career path or [...]
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2 Why should we care for our neighbor? Because as Christians we believe God is loose in the world. Because we believe that life is so much bigger and more mysterious than the calculations we [...]
My Grandmother and Grandfather on my mother’s side lived here in Roanoke (I grew up in Charleston WV) and they were members at the church where I now belong – Raleigh Court Presbyterian. Their old house is in Raleigh Court about two miles from where we live now. I haven’t shared with my children enough [...]
During August, I fulfilled a fervent boyhood dream: to climb the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacan outside Mexico City. Not only did I climb them, but I also flew over them in a hot-air balloon just at sunrise on one bright, crisp day. It was an awe-inspiring vista, looking down on the Pyramid of the Sun [...]
Over my nearly forty years practicing Emergency Medicine, I have attempted to hone my skills of observation, smell, sight and hearing, in order to better diagnose the ailments set before me. It is fair to say, because of this, I have diagnosed at least as many thyroid problems and melanomas in visitors to the ER [...]
Sports have always left an indelible impression on my mind. Whether it was the first time I saw a game in a major league baseball park, the accidental hole-in-one I scored by ricocheting my tee shot off of a sand trap rake, or the first time my son hit a home run in high school, [...]
Rental cars get broken into all the time at the beach parking lots, and this one at Ke ‘e Beach at the Na Pali trail head is liable to be no exception. We make the interior of the car look as unappealing as possible –it’s not too difficult since we have been traveling in it [...]
My initiation into the world of education began in an unorthodox way. My family had just moved to our new home near Verona in Augusta County, and my mother learned I would attend the school at Mt. Sidney, a few miles north of our home. My parents believed in training children to be independent, and [...]
I fancy myself a passionate gardener; I love digging in the dirt, experimenting with new plants and battling the many weeds that seem to thrive under any circumstances. The lawn mower, weed eater, rake, and leaf blower are no strangers to me. I love the instant gratification that all of these implements help me achieve. [...]
