Late in the evening on December 24, 1963, I was supposed to be snuggled up in my bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in my head. Well, not really; I had no idea what such things were. Nonetheless, my brother and I were standing at the large, old, single-pane…
As everyone knows—and especially those reading this blog post—we have entered the digital age. I read a statistic the other day stating that 46% of smartphone users spend 5-6 hours per day on their device; 11% spend 7 hours or more! And that doesn’t include work-related smartphone use! That’s incredible….
What was your first clue this year that Christmas is coming? Pop into Walmart a week or so before Halloween and discover a bunch of strategically placed Christmas decorations? Or maybe you have children at home, and they let you know? I don’t get to stores much, so I don’t…
The stereotypical Thanksgiving celebration in America involves people—a lot of people. That’s why Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest travel season of the year—even more so than Christmas! So the vintage scene includes a large table overflowing with food with people seated all around. Through the years, many of our Thanksgiving…
A football fanatic I am not, but like most boys growing up in the ‘60s, I easily gravitated to the sport. On many a fall afternoon after school as well as on Saturdays, my brothers and I gathered other kids in the neighborhood for a rousing game of football. We…
I live in river country. A few blocks from our house flows the Rock River, coming down from the north and emptying into the Mississippi River about 40 miles away. My wife and I frequently walk a path that looks over the Rock. If we head the other direction, the…
The idea came eleven years ago, and—believe it or not—it didn’t come from me! In the middle of August 2012, my wife and I had a short overnight getaway in Chicago to celebrate our 32nd anniversary. The weather forecast was ideal, so we took our bikes to ride along the…
When life hands you a bunch of lemons, make lemonade!” So goes the old adage. In the last several installments of the Pastor’s Page (if you missed them, begin here), I shared the experience of our (my sister and I) foiled attempt to hike Vermont’s Long Trail—that 273-mile journey up…
[If you missed previous installments, begin here, or get the background to today’s post here.] What turned out to be our last full day’s hike on the Long Trail began ominously. The torrential rains from the night before died down, but a light rain persisted. With daylight came a clearer…
Due to the unexpected pole incident (read about it here, if you missed it), my sister and I found ourselves at the Green Mountain House a couple of days earlier than our initial reservation. The host graciously made room for us. The Green Mountain House Hostel is a way station…
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