~photo courtesy of Tiffany's Tidbits

The truth about Santa. 

Santa Claus is both real and unreal; true and untrue.  None of which matters to me.  I believe in Santa Claus.  Or, should I say, I believe in the Myth of Santa Claus.  I love the prospect of… Read full post »

       *1952 Iowa liscense plate from www.deerrunmercantile.com

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For those who live either on the East or West Coasts, still believing that we Iowans only live on farms surrounded by huge fields of corn, I have some news for you.  We don't.  I have… Read full post »

     ~photo courtesy of worldnewsnow.com

On Sunday's "Meet the Press," House majority leader John Boehner of Ohio got a pitch over the heart of plate and rather than hit the home run, he fouled it off.

Asked by Moderator David Gregory about President Obama's citizenship and r… Read full post »

        ~photo courtesy of digitaltrends.com

The hours I have spent in our local Borders Bookstore defies measure.  On one rainy Saturday afternoon, I walked into this Mecca of books, magazines, and music just shortly after noon, only to leave in time… Read full post »

                ~photo courtesy of www.pbs.org

I love Antiques Roadshow!  The American version of a similar show in Britian, Antiques Roadshow is based on a simple premise.  People are invited to bring whate… Read full post »

       ~Snow-draped tree outside my apartment

Snow drapes the sprawling tree

and I am reminded

of the wonderment

of Magi who journeyed

with an eye towards Nature's

sacred participation

in Humanity's blessed

events.

… Read full post »

~from www.arts.uwaterloo.ca  (this is not my mother!)

A recent article in the New York Times  immediately caught my attention. Titled "U.S. Rethinks Strategy for the 'Unthinkable,'" William J. Broad's article  elucidates the findings of the Federal Emergency Management A… Read full post »

While traveling to Fergus Falls, Minnesota to celebrate Thanksgiving, I ran into a snowstorm.  This is was not a major storm but enough to leave roads somewhat snow covered and icy.  Twice I nearly stopped to hunker down at a motel thinking I could continue my trip the next morning.… Read full post »

John Lennon and Yoko Ono outside the Dakota in September 1980

*****

 I, like so many others, heard of John Lennon's murder while watching Monday Night Football. Howard Cosell broke the news.

An unspeakable tragedy, confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside ofhis… Read full post »

Zen stories are told to both entertain and cause one to think, reflect, meditate, even laugh.   This story seemed appropriate to the season. Amidst the hustle and bustle that is the Holidays, where does one find the Holy among what seems profane?  

It is said that "seeing is be… Read full post »

~photo courtesy of Kansas City Star and NASA

It turns out that there are more stars in the Universe than Scientists thought. Imagine that!

Without going into much boring detail, according to a study published on line by the journal Nature, where once experts on the Universe thought… Read full post »

~photo courtesy of appleinsider.com and christie's

********

 In 1976, I was finishing my undergraduate degree and making plans to enter a Masters Program.  That same year Steven P. Jobs and Steve Wozniak were rolling out what was essentially the first personal computer. Apple sold… Read full post »

~photo courtesy of theresolved.com

Deck the Halls, the Holiday Season is fast approaching!  In fact, for some time, the chambers of the Retailers' cathedrals have already been decked out, including the playing of Christmas music! 

In my opinion, "Silent Night" capture… Read full post »

The nights now grow darker,

earlier,

and whereas the Sun's  light once brought me home,

now the headlights beam

their flooded guidance

through the paved streets

and the deepening cold,

and Stars now sprinkle their

glow though the Night Sky

and… Read full post »

~photo courtesy of Bing and americanwilbert.com

Recently, in my hometown of Davenport, Iowa, an unconscious toddler arrived at the Emergency Room.  Something was horribly wrong. Brought by the mother's boyfriend who was caring for the child while his mother worked, the child had sustai… Read full post »

~photo courtesy of Bing

 ‎"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane… Read full post »

~photo courtesy of Bing and avsforum.com 

Jack had his beanstalk,

Jacob his ladder,

Yearning to leave here is what's really the matter.

Kirk in his Starship,

Dorothy her brooding,

What's wrong with this place and why all the mooding?

'Cause here is here,

and there… Read full post »

photo courtesy of Bing and businessinsociety.blogspot

Autumn Flight

October's chill obliges my scarf and fedora,

the morning rain glistening from fallen leaves

while the northern breeze stirs the now barren branches.

I walk along the sidewalk,

eyes downward, noticing the tips… Read full post »

~photo courtesy of Bing and shakalaka.be

A pleasant Sunday to you all.  Zen Sunday.  Since Sunday seems a wonderful day for reflection, contemplation and filling out very large crossword puzzles, it seemed appropriate to move Saturday Zen.  

I don't write these Zen stories. &n… Read full post »

Statue of Roger Williams in Providence, Rhode Island 

~photo courtesy of www.planetware.com

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For a time, I considered myself a Baptist.  I graduated from a Baptist Seminary. My Seminary curriculum included Baptist History, which means I was introduced to Roger Willia… Read full post »

~photo courtesy of Bing and www.shakalaka.be

Saturday Zen.  A day for a story that makes one think, reflect, contemplate, laugh, scratch one's head and most importantly, enjoy.

Feel free to read, reflect, comment.

******

A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I… Read full post »

  ~photo courtesy of Sabo News and NY Daily News Web Site

I have long been perplexed by politicians and business leaders who slam same-sex marriage, politic against it, and in the process deny Gays and Lesbians the right to marry, reap the benefits of a shared life of marriage… Read full post »

~photo courtesy of Bing and www.shakalaka.be 

Zen Saturday.  A day for stories that make one think.  You are invited to read the story, then, comment.  What do you make of the story?  What are your own reflections, thoughts, feelings?

A priest was in charge of a gard… Read full post »

On Thursday night, October 7th, a date three days longer than the 53rd anniversary of the launching of Sputnik, the first satellite sent into space, a Soyuz rocket pealed itself from Earth's confines.  Riding atop the Russian built rocket were three men.  Their destination is the Internatio… Read full post »

Gracing the sidewalks of the Shoppes at Grand Prairie, a beautiful outdoor shopping mall in Peoria, Illinois, stands an ingenious, stirring Holocaust Memorial.

Gleaming glass and steel towers, in the shapes of the Star of David, and arranged in facing triang… Read full post »