Posts by D C

One of my favorite spiritual writers, Thomas Merton, offered an important insight about saints.  He wisely observed that saints are not perfectionists.  That is, we shouldn’t expect a saint to be someone who has lived a perfect life or has even aspired to live such a life.  Saints are human beings; people who have struggled,…

St. Louis is a special baseball city.  I remember the sportscaster Bob Costas saying that Cardinal fans were the most knowledgeable baseball fans in America.  Tony La Russa, manager of the Cardinals for sixteen seasons, once remarked that people in St. Louis would stop him on the street to suggest different batting lineups.   Although I…

When I was a graduate student in the early seventies in Scotland, my wife and I wanted to visit Ireland.  The distance between Glasgow, Scotland, and Dublin, Ireland is roughly the same mileage as between Johnson County and Chicago, so it wasn’t the length of the trip that prevented our visit.  And even though we…

I have long been fascinated by the “creative process” of artists.  Perhaps my first encounter with a real artist came in the church of my youth.  Once every two or three years, my church would invite a “chalk artist” to perform in a Sunday evening service.  These artists would set up their large easels in…

Our culture emphasizes the challenges that come with aging more than its benefits.  Of course, as we age, there are activities we can no longer excel in and new health issues to contend with, but aging offers treasures for those who pursue them.   Wisdom is one of those treasures, but wisdom is not like grey…

It’s not often a person is in the same room as one of her or his heroes.  That was my experience in May 2003, when Mr. Bill Russell, NBA All-Star and Civil Rights advocate, was awarded an honorary degree at Franklin College’s Commencement.   I learned more about Mr. Russell last week when word of his…

The phrase “something has to give” is a warning that applies to a variety of situations. In the world of sports, a rift has opened up between the PGA (Professional Golf Association) and the new Saudi-backed golf league.  Players are having to choose between loyalty to the PGA and a boatload of money by joining…

I have a friend who believes that life is primarily composed of random events, mere coincidences.  I have other friends who see connections and hidden meanings in almost everything that happens.     I am somewhere in the middle.  Much of my life seems ordinary and predictable.  But I admit to feeling a thrill when something happens…

Imagine a person with little musical training announcing that he intends to conduct a performance of one of Beethoven’s most beautiful works.  Because of this person’s popularity, huge crowds show up to hear these performances.  It immediately becomes clear, however, that this person doesn’t even know how to hold the conductor’s baton.  Nor does this…

I came to an enjoyment of science late.  My grades in junior high and senior high school science classes were mediocre at best, and if there had been an emphasis on STEM during those years, none of my teachers would have put my name forward as a good candidate.  Many of my friends found math…