With Thanksgiving behind us, and Christmas looming on the horizon, the old George Carlin comedy routine about “stuff” seems quite relevant and timely. Here’s a Sunday service (and sermon) we just did for the Unitarian Universalist Church in Norwich, CT. … Continue reading →
There’s a fairy tale about long long ago at First Parish. Lots of people don’t believe it ever happened. Long long ago before the time when the church left the building, before the time when we had to stay at … Continue reading →
THE TOO-HARD PILE Into the TOO-Hard Pile go The miserable unanswerables, The defiant, frowning head-shakers. The Too-Hard Pile beckons to us even from the very bottom drawer, Where we have stuffed it hoping to quiet that incessant chatter yelling “What??!” … Continue reading →
Last spring, most of us looked forward to a ‘return to normal summer’. The Delta variant disrupted our plans. As has been the case for the past 8 years, I spent the summer at our cottage on Mount Desert Island … Continue reading →
After our latest hurricane “encounter” (Henri’s meandering journey up the East Coast), we thought everyone could use some escapist perspective. So, we got busy writing, and came up with a few stormy (but humorous) memories from years ago. Our latest … Continue reading →
Some towns only had one bowling alley. My hometown had three, plus a pro shop run by the Bowlinsky Brothers. So we were quite the bowling mecca back in the day. Here’s a little tale, the latest installment in our … Continue reading →
Remember those innocent days of childhood, when we didn’t know “nothin’” about anything? They certainly provided hours of entertainment for the parents of us naive grade schoolers. One episode in my life that haunts me to this day was the … Continue reading →
SURPRISING While unemployed, or marginally managing, A quiet breath drifts in, A moment of calm, The sighting of a red cardinal Outside the kitchen window. The incessant thoughts drift out to sea, Out to see, To clearly look at what … Continue reading →
Now that summer is upon us, and many are heading to the lakes and beaches, here’s some helpful advice: if you’re a novice boater like me, don’t make the mistake of annoying nearby fishermen with the drone of your outboard … Continue reading →
If you’ve ever enjoyed watching “A Christmas Story,” you may or may not be aware that the man behind this classic holiday TV fare is Jean Shepherd, a 20th century humorist often called a modern-day Mark Twain. He was an … Continue reading →