Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”
– Sir Winston Churchill
The Starling – A Bird that it’s Okay to Hate
European Starling “Sturnus Vulgaris”
Every Spring when the birds begin to revitalize following several weeks or even months of old man Winter, it never fails that at least one will attempt to domicile in the area next to my window air-conditioning unit. As my desk sits next to that window, I have to bang on the accordion side-panel of the unit with my flashlight to ward them off. Until this year!
Continue readingExtraordinary Times
And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
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Reliving Autumn of 1985
Back in December of 2019, I was contacted by Chris, who along with his wife, both from Muncie, have put together a podcast series on unsolved Indiana homicides in the central region of the state. The title of the Series in “Circle City Crime” and it is now in its second season.
Continue readingThe Two Wolves
Continue readingThere is a battle of two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth. The wolf that wins? The one you feed.”
– Cherokee Proverb
Lunar Landing – A Half a Century Ago
Incredibly, today, July 20th, 2019, is the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing, which fulfilled President Kennedy’s 1961 vow to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
Continue readingHelô Pinheiro, That Girl From Ipanema
Who could not be familiar with the world’s most famous bossa nova song, Girl From Ipanema? The song was written in 1962 by Brazilians songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim and poet Vinicius de Moraes as they were sitting in the Veloso, a cabana on the famous beach in Rio, watching a young siren walk to the sea.
Continue readingForty Years of “Gravy”
On July 14, 1979, I turned my 1975 Monte Carlo into an El Camino, instantly. I also managed to push the ball of my femur through the back of its socket. Basically, I broke my hip, the largest joint in the human body. Some describe the pain of a broken hip as comparable to that of birthing a child. Having had no way of verifying that, I just took their word for it. By the way, it was painful enough to make those analogies seem valid.
Continue readingIndiana’s Contribution to Music
A while back, I posted about Indiana authors of note. Here’s a follow-up post comprising a list of contributors who’ve made a huge impact to music from the Hoosier state!
Continue readingThe First “First Lady”
One of the largest repositories of genealogical data in the world belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly referred to as the Mormons. During my ongoing research into my family tree, I’ve used the LDS genealogy website, familysearch.org, extensively and often receive notifications of new findings as they arise.
Continue readingReturn to the Lone Star State
After arriving home yesterday morning at 7:00 am from a road trip to my previous state of residence, I reflect on the week-long excursion. From Muncie to the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex is roughly one thousand miles, about 16 hours of drive time using the optimum route. Having made the trip many times over the last 4 decades, the distance may not have changed, but my physical stamina and mental acuity sure have!
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