Musings on Pogo

“We have met the enemy, and he is us.” This line, from the comic strip, Pogo, by Walt Kelly, signaled the stark realization that we are responsible for the condition of the Earth. While it may be tempting to blame multinational corporations or "big government" for any damage, we accept it as the price we … Continue reading Musings on Pogo →

Letter to Senators

I sent this letter to my Senator yesterday. It is really an open letter to all Senators. I moved to Indiana in 1980 and have been registered as a Republican for 51 years. My parents were life-long Republicans. I was born in the Eisenhower era and learned to respect and admire many of what I … Continue reading Letter to Senators →

The World According to Lottie

Lottie was born in 1935, two years after the Enabling Act, which effectively suspended the German Constitution, granting the Fuhrer virtually unlimited power. As a young girl Lottie lived in Germany during WWII. She told us her mother received a Gold Motherhood Medal (for having more than eight children). We knew Lottie (not her real … Continue reading The World According to Lottie →

Do Not Harm

I’m grateful to Domenic Spera for being a good mentor to me. My first year in grad school was also his first year as a faculty member at Indiana University. I was privileged to be assigned to his Jazz Ensemble, and I benefitted from his teaching more than I realized at the time. I’ve written … Continue reading Do Not Harm →

Tests

“Will this be on the test?” As you might imagine, in four decades of teaching I heard this question numerous times. Of course, I tested students and provided little quizzes to help prepare them for tests. In my recording techniques class, I administered one-on-one tests, so my students could show me they knew their way … Continue reading Tests →

Loss

My Dad came from a generation that rarely shared emotions. I don’t recall him ever telling me, “I love you.” I remember he cried on three occasions – when his mother died, when Mom died, and when my brother had a stroke. His emotions did become more apparent in the last decade or so of … Continue reading Loss →

Kryptonite

I once taught a section of Critical Thinking Seminar for first-year students. For a few years, I included a unit on superheroes. I thought this might be a way to engage more students, particularly young men, who were following the new (at the time) movies that featured Marvel and DC Comics characters. We read essays … Continue reading Kryptonite →

Affirmations

The only time I missed a performance in college was when I contracted mononucleosis. My spleen was the size of a football and because of the risk of a rupture, I was confined to the infirmary for a week. I brought all my textbooks and a Bible. I thought the time alone might provide an … Continue reading Affirmations →

Small World

Apologies to anyone who immediately thought of the song. This meditation isn’t about the Disney ride or buying the world a Coke. It’s not about randomly encountering an old friend at an airport or in a big city either, as exhilarating as that might be. It’s not even about spending time with children, who often … Continue reading Small World →

Harpies

The controversy over the opening festivities at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in particular “The Last Supper,” has caused me to reflect on what we are becoming as a society, and especially what some of those who call themselves Christians might have become. Others have presented a rebuttal to the notion that the tableau was “offensive” … Continue reading Harpies →