Scrooge’s lesson somehow became my own, and with him I set my heart to stop my covetous existence, grappling for the lost currency of my home culture, so that I might exchange it for a much more valuable life of living with and for my fellow man.
The scene is a dreary rainy day in Nottingham. The mood is blue and sad, and the voice of the minstrel, Alan-a-Dale, who happens to be a rooster in this Disney version of Robin Hood, is heard as he sings about the hardships and woes of the people being taxed by Prince John. Everyone seems…
“Repetition is the mother of all learning” some people say. I’m not so sure about that, but I am sure that Repetition is the father of Acquaintance, and Acquaintance all too often sires the illegitimate child Contempt. Even the most novel and noble ideas become ordinary and mundane when reduced to bare facts and repeated…
From the moments they begin to crawl and take their first steps, they are inching into a broader world. The first time they take the spoon and go after the peas and carrot on their own or eat the spaghetti with their chubby little fingers from off their high chair tray, they are gaining independence….
One of funny things about this modern world of ours is all its options. There are so many choices that at times one doesn’t know what to choose. As a person that has lived between two different countries most of my adult life I can really understand the problem with being overwhelmed. I remember the…
It seems that in most houses there is at least one place that is a magnet for clutter. It might be the garage, the attic, the laundry room, a spare closet, or even the kitchen sink, but wherever it happens to be, there is something about that particular space that seems to attract extra stuff…
While reading aloud The Lord of the Rings to my two oldest daughters for the first time, I have been repeatedly struck by something: the power of hospitality. The larger world that Frodo and company are thrust into can be perilous, even a bit grim, but it is never over much. Why, one might ask?…
As I thought over my favorite book/illustrator combos, stories and images came to my mind. Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White, was the first. What more could you want for a cover than the cobweb bedecked title, with little Charlotte hanging from it? There is Wilbur clutched in the protective arms of Fern, looking timid, sweet,…
Six years ago, my wife Patty was searching for ideas for our oldest daughter’s tenth birthday party. She wanted the day to be full of memories, but she knew she had limitations. We can often feel that limitations crush creativity, but in reality they are one of the greatest factors that help to foster it….
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” C.S. Lewis There are moments when someone slaps us on the back and says “good job.” There are times that a smiling person sincerely says, “Thank you”. There are occasions when we are awarded or even honored, but there are many more occasions…
There I was, a scrawny, gangly twelve-year-old, standing with my back pack and tape recorder in front of a house I had never been to before. It was a small ranch house with mint green vinyl siding and white shutters. As my family car pulls out of the drive way, my mom waves goodbye and…
Two boys run around the playground equipment skidding on the little wood chips carpeting the ground. They zap, pow, punch, and kick as they zoom about. One is wearing a red cape that flaps in the wind behind him as he flies around with his arms stretched in front of him. The other has on…
