Posts by D C

Dachau.  Do you recognize that word?  If you do not, the residents of the German town of Dachau are overjoyed.  If you do recognize that word, then you know that Dachau was the site of one of Nazi Germany’s most infamous concentration and death camps.  It is estimated that 200,000 Jews, Communists, homosexuals, and other…

Although the parable of the prodigal son is one of Jesus’ most beloved stories, the story isn’t normally linked with the season of Easter.  Yet this year, I realized there is an important connection. To refresh our memories, the parable of the prodigal son is the story of a father with two sons.  The younger…

Nearly twenty years ago, I discovered the Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia.  That led to my buying two of his LPs, which I enjoyed until my turntable stopped turning.  Then I simply forgot him.     Over this past year, however, I stumbled upon the numerous recordings of Paco de Lucia that are available…

In a well-needed attack on the clutter in our attic, my wife found a box of memorabilia that my parents must have given me when they cleaned out their own house.  I am sure that I hadn’t opened this box for nearly fifty years. In the box was the first Bible that I was given…

Ukraine might seem far away from central Indiana, so when Putin’s war began, we could, if we wanted, ignore the tragedy that has fallen on that country.  But no one who has filled up at a gas station or shopped in a grocery store in the last weeks can ignore the connection that exists between…

In Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, we are watching someone act like one of Russia’s czars from the past.  One of those czars, Ivan, was even known as “The Terrible,” a title that Putin has now earned. The fatal flaw of all dictators is that they surround themselves with sycophants, “yes men” and “yes women” who…

Mark Twain once said that there are two days that are most important in a person’s life.  One is the day you were born and the other is the day you figure out why.  One of the greatest honors and privileges of working with college students is that so many of them share with their…

In looking through old photos recently, I came across one with our car in the background.  The photo brought back a flood of memories of all the good times we had in that car.   Given all the memories we have with our automobiles, it isn’t surprising that cars can seem like family members.  It’s…

Two news stories collided recently and the news story that moves our hearts as Americans will decide our future as a society.  One news story centers on the bill being proposed by several Indiana Republican legislators to ban discussion of topics such as racism from the classroom because these legislators deem those topics as potentially…

If there is one certainty in fishing, it is that there is no certainty.  This past summer, on the Wisconsin lake I know best, I stumbled onto a new fishing strategy.  Instead of fishing with everyone else from six in the evening until sunset, I began to venture out later,  when the sky was already…