It is Ash Wednesday, the start of the season of Lent. The first thing that comes to mind when most people hear “Lent” is the notion of giving something up. This has been a traditional time of fasting for centuries. Maybe that’s a good thing. The truth is that most of us have come from … Continue reading Feasting, Fasting, Fullness
Today is National Introverts Day. Indeed, what perfect timing! After all the costumes and candy of Halloween, after all the feasting and football of Thanksgiving, after all the parties and presents of Christmas, after all the noise of New Year’s Eve, we introverts get a day to ourselves. Of course, we would probably have taken … Continue reading National Introverts Day
Folks in Tennessee get excited about snow. We don’t see all that much during the course of the winter. It’s sort of rare that we get enough to effect life in any substantial way. So even the forecast of snow makes people react, or maybe, over-react. Cars are filled with fuel. Shopping carts are filled … Continue reading Southern Snow Day
So what do you say? How do you respond to the holiday greetings that are going around these days? We are in the final days of Hannukah, and it would be appropriate to greet one another with some acknowledgement of that fact. It is an important time for our Jewish sisters and brothers. But I’m … Continue reading Greetings
We were sitting around the table in Grandmother Musser’s dining room. We had traveled to West Virginia for Thanksgiving, as we had many times before. It was the home place, the place the family gathered, the place where my in-laws had grown up. Since we didn’t want Grandmother to have to cook everything or work … Continue reading Pie for Breakfast
We got a new tent in the mail this week. Our old tent had bit the dust after about 20 years of adventures. It had endured much in its time; it had served us well. But it was getting a bit worn—pinprick holes and tiny tears from falling acorns and pine cones and general wear … Continue reading Temporary Structures
Character in the Making 