“A creative writing teacher at San Jose State used to say about clichés: Avoid them like the plague. Then he’d laugh at his own joke.” – Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner)

The English language can be difficult to master. Those learning to speak it as a second language find its vagaries more like a mine field than a walk in the park. Effective communication requires a mastery of grammar and pronunciation as well as the acquisition of a large vocabulary. The sheer number of words in the English language can boggle the mind. Add to that the need to know verb variations and tense as well as mastery of slang and colloquialisms, and you’ll have yourself a real kettle of fish. But the straw that breaks the camel’s back Continue reading “Figuratively Speaking” →

“The notion of political correctness declares certain topics, certain expressions, even certain gestures, off-limits. What began as a crusade for civility has soured into a cause of conflict and even censorship.” – George Bush

My ruminations meander today because their scope is so broad. My thoughts regarding political correctness began simply enough. I was working on an assignment that explored the origins of Indian pudding. As I read through my notes, I stopped when I came to the expression Indian summer. Back in the day, we were taught that Indian summer referred to a warm spell that followed the first frost of autumn. I never for a moment considered it might be offensive to Native Americans, and thought it was a lovely way to describe the final flush Continue reading “But Is It Politically Correct?” →

“Homelessness is not a choice, but rather a journey that many find themselves in.”
― Asa Don Brown

One consequence of growing old in America is having time to reexamine beliefs that may not hold up to the challenges of science or scholarship. Christian scholars, including the Pope, himself a biblical scholar, have concluded there are problems with the Gospel accounts of the nativity. There was no stable and Jesus was probably born in a home belonging to a member of Joseph’s family. The discrepancies can be attributed to poor translations and and the desire of early Christians to emphasize the humble origins of the holy family. I loved the story and committed it to memory as a child. The phrase, “no room in the inn,” comes to mind Continue reading “No Room in the Inn” →

“I think that the press has a duty and an obligation to report on local government, state government, federal government – to be aggressive, to do its job. And its job is to report on whatever it’s covering.” – Mark McKinnon

Remember the shepherd boy who said to the mighty king, “Do you know what I know?” That refrain came to mind when the Attorney General released his three and a half page interpretation of the Mueller report. I’m not a lawyer and I don’t yet know what is in the report, but that triggered another thought raised in the same carol. “Did you see what I saw?”

Having watched and heard the president, in his own words, defend actions he has taken against the Justice department, I, like the Continue reading “Do You Hear What I Hear?” →

“Besides, what’s in a name? Actually, a lot. Whether taken from a parent or grandparent, some saint, or even the late great Elvis, your name insists another person’s dream of what you should have been. The portrait of some ancestral ideal lingers through heirloom names. Gender specific names imply all sorts of expectations. More than just a signifier used to summon, instruct, address, accuse, sometimes praise us, our names define and thereby limit us. They put us in a cage.” ― Brien Piechos

I was to have been named Audrey Lynde in honor of my childless and miserly great aunt. Audrey had the distinction of having one blue and one brown eye, and if family lore is ever to be believed, her penurious habits enabled her to squirrel away a mighty impressive rainy day fund. While I don’t question my parent’s motives, hindsight leads me to Continue reading “What’s In A Name?” →

We have been reduced to a nation of crumbs and cages. The cages protect us from children at the border, the crumbs are what’s left to feed the children of our poor. There is a certain irony here. The cages are a component of Trump’s pesky border wall and his administration is trying to siphon the funds needed to build it from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP program.

In December, the administration was handed a resounding defeat when Congress rejected the President’s effort to strip millions of people of food stamp or SNAP benefits through the federal Farm Bill. Undeterred by the failure of the Farm Bill, the administration’s budget for 2019 proposed to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by more than $213 billion over the next ten years — or by nearly Continue reading “Crumbs and Cages” →

What is luck? It is not only chance, it is also creating the opportunity, recognizing it when it is there, and taking it when it comes.

Natasha Josefowitz

Can luck be defined? Is it dumb? Is it blind? The philosopher Seneca believed that “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Continue reading “Lucky?” →

Old souls tend to think a lot … about everything. Their ability to reflect and learn from their actions and those of others is their greatest teacher in life. One reason why old souls feel so old at heart is because they have learned so many lessons through their own thought processes, and possess so much insight into life situations from their ability to quietly and carefully observe what if going on around them. – Aletheia Luna

I was one, I bore one and I’m making cookies with a four year old who is one. Her older brothers have been fighting and been sent outside to release some pent up energy. I’m keeping an eye on a neighbor’s grandchildren and Little Miss and I Continue reading “Old Souls” →

We become distracted from productive labors by our perceived opponents; we become focused on them and not on our larger calling to advance our nation; our debate becomes more about scoring points against an adversary and less about advancing our common cause. – Cory Booker

My thoughts today are not overtly political, but they are the result of political activity and how it is reported. As our political divide has widened, elements of opinion, rather than news, have flooded our airways and further divided a country already attempting to deal with the fault lines separating red and blue states, rural and urban communities, and varying levels of education. Continue reading “Breaking Of Charity” →