Posts by D C

Earlier this year, I renewed a friendship from over forty years ago.  I can’t remember which of us initiated the contact, but it has been a joy to chat back and forth even if it is only by email.  Then, this past week, a friend from over fifty years ago found my contact information on…

I attended a wedding recently, one where, because my wife officiated, I was able to observe the ceremony close up.  Because my wife and I were both college professors for four decades, we have attended numerous weddings of students over those years, and we have both now officiated at several.   Weddings are wonderful when everything…

Americans of my generation were born in the early years of the Cold War, and, as the word “cold” suggests, our time in history seemed frozen.  Yes, maps of the world had to be altered periodically to accommodate revolutions and other political upheavals in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, but mostly the…

I suspect that most people would say that their favorite season of the year is summer.  Summer is associated with vacations, good times outdoors, and beloved sports like baseball, softball, tennis, and golf.  This is the season when people are usually more active and, consequently, usually experience better health.   But this summer in particular has…

When I taught religious studies for over four decades, I became quite used to people trivializing religion or dismissing it as something weak and anemic.  The whole point of being religious, some people would share with me, is to be kind.  No wonder many people think that religious training might be good for children but…

  There is a lot about aging that I’m fine with.  Getting to know and love my grandchildren is beyond anything that I expected, and there’s something to be said about not having to set an alarm for Monday mornings.  But I confess that I find it hard to say goodbye when friends pass away. …

Just as the sky was brightening one morning last week, I was awakened by a songbird outside the window.  The song was captivating, and I continued to listen, expecting to hear another bird respond.  But there was no response, and the songbird continued to give a solo performance.  My first thought was that if I…

“Come, let us reason together,” says the Lord. Although this is an ancient passage, from theeighth-century BCE Hebrew prophet Isaiah, the simple phrase seems particularly apropos this week inAmerica’s political life as we watch Donald Trump being arraigned again. But before we focus on Trump, let’s think a bit more about the wisdom found in…

As a cancer survivor, I know that one of the sweetest phrases in the English language is “The good news is that we caught this early.” But hearing this phrase from an oncologist isn’t the end of the story. Rather, the “good news” is just the beginning. We’d all be alarmed if a friend who…

Readers will have some sense of my age when I share that I can remember seeing the great Boston Celtic guard Bob Cousy “dribble out the clock.” Cousy was short, but he used his lack of height as an advantage as he led defenders on a merry chase for minutes—yes, minutes—to run out the clock.…