Posts by D C

I will admit to having a mild case of World Cup fever.  As is true of most Americans, I had seen soccer, or what the rest of the world calls “football” or “futbol,” played before.  But my passions when I was growing up were basketball and baseball, and I am positive that my high school…

I was watching a movie version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with my wife recently when I had a strong feeling that I’d encountered this story before.  No, I’m not talking about earlier film versions of Dickens’ classic, but something far more ancient.  Growing up the son of a minister and ending up teaching…

If you are looking for a nearly foolproof Christmas gift idea, I have a suggestion for you to consider.  And as an added bonus, I can promise that this gift will actually be good for the brains of those who receive it.     I am talking about a book, but not just any book.  I am…

This is the type of fast that I wish: to loosen the fetters of injustice . . . to set free those who are oppressed . . . to share your bread with the hungry, and to offer shelter to the homeless poor, to clothe the naked when you behold them and not turn your…

Donald Trump and Ted Lasso Walk into a Bar . . .   How would you finish that sentence?  What would be the outcome of a meeting between someone like Donald Trump and someone like Ted Lasso?   If we think of masculinity on a spectrum, then there could hardly be two more different versions of what…

Who can predict the future?  That’s kind of a trick question, because anyone can predict the future.  The real question is “Who can predict the future accurately?”   We might think that predicting the future accurately is the task of religious mystics or seers.  But there are others who are accurately predicting the future, and those…

Vladimir Putin is smiling, and that isn’t good news.  What Putin is smiling about is a recent development in our country during this election season.  As he has hoped, both political parties—Democrat and Republican—have factions within them that question the level of support for Ukraine.   One of the lessons we learned from the pandemic is…

When we moved to central Indiana forty-four years ago, one of my wife’s cousins, a graduate of Indiana University, told us that we’d love the long fall season in our new home.  My wife’s cousin was certainly right.  Just when it seems that autumn colors are at their peak, the colors become even more vibrant. …

One of the most familiar Zen koans, or puzzles, is the question “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”    In an unexpected way, science has discovered an answer to the question.  And the scientific answer to the ancient koan is “yes, a…

Coming home.  Homecoming.  This is a tradition centuries old and even older for species such as birds who migrate thousands of miles to return to nesting sites.  I was thinking about the attraction of human homecomings last weekend when I attended Franklin College’s annual fall celebration by the same name–Homecoming.  A past student of mine…