One of the grimmest memories of the past year and a half was the COVID death count that was prominently displayed in a graph during the news. It showed deaths in the U.S. as well as in the world. It was an unfailing reminder of the “plague” that was among us. It was not unlike the body counts from Vietnam that I remember being reported on the nightly news. How many young men were lost that day. There were also the pictures splashed on the covers of Newsweek and Time magazine of the My Lai massacre and the napalm bombing … Continue reading Good Morning 8-31-21

I was a college freshman at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. After spending the summer working at a bible camp in North Dakota, I moved to college with the help of a friend. It was October, the Columbus Holiday, and I was eager to go home. It had been five long months. Teenagers are interesting creatures. They play the game of being quite discontent with home—the whole rebellion thing, you know—experts say it’s so they will be able to separate when they inevitably move out to start a life of their own. However, once they make the … Continue reading Good Morning 8-30-21

They say opposites attract and if that’s true, then Steve and I are prime examples. I’m the extrovert, he’s the introvert. I’m thrifty (read: tight). Steve, not so much. I love a good surprise. He’s not crazy about them, preferring to know and plan in advance. He’s much more likely to take a leap of faith. I can be a bit of a cynic. Regardless, of our differences, we have made it work for over forty-six years now. There is a push-pull that results in a sort of balance when you are in a relationship with someone who is not … Continue reading Good Morning 8-29-21

Twenty years ago, after the horror of 9/11 and well into the winter, our older daughter announced she would be taking a semester of college overseas. She planned to go to Perth on the west coast of Australia. I was naturally nervous about her taking a big trip like that so soon after the destruction that occurred on American soil. I was terrified to think she was going to be flying through huge airports in other parts of the world…places I didn’t know for sure were safe. When we were down to the days before she left, I decided I … Continue reading Good Morning 8-27-21

Our society is survey crazy. We used surveys at the bank to gauge the satisfaction of our customers. In fact, we sent out tens of thousands of them each month and hoped to get maybe 2% of them back. As employees we were surveyed each year in the “Voice of the Employee” survey. All the answers were used presumably to make our service better and the bank a better place to work. Over the years surveys have become more ubiquitous. The bank switched from paper surveys to voice surveys at the end of each call. For customers who didn’t care … Continue reading Good Morning 8-26-21

When I turned 13 my mother threw me a surprise birthday breakfast party. That’s right. It was early Saturday morning when I woke up to my friends in their pajamas and robes flooding into my bedroom and jumping on my bed. They got me up and we all giggled and gaggled into the kitchen. There we had breakfast together and I opened my cards and presents. Turns out the surprise was for everyone as the mothers had conspired to wake their girls up early that day and deliver them to our house for the surprise. That was one of those … Continue reading Good Morning 8-25-21

Some of the most precious mail I receive is from my grandsons. The thank you cards they send for presents we’ve given hang out on the fridge for months. Every time I look at them, I can see their little faces earnestly writing. One of our grandsons balked at writing thank yous for his birthday presents and his mother, our daughter, advised him that if he doesn’t send a thank you, perhaps the presents will cease to arrive. He got busy writing. I’ve not been stellar at writing thank yous myself over the years. It’s become far too convenient to … Continue reading Good Morning 8-24-21

I had another one of those nights recently. I awoke inexplicably at 2:00 am and then, though I lay perfectly still, eyes closed trying to will myself to go back to sleep, I opened one eye to see 2:08, then 2:17, then 2:35 and 2:47 glow mockingly from the clock on my bedside table. It was 3:12 and 3:27 and 3:51. I got up, hit the bathroom, rearranged the pillows on my return, and turned over to show my back to that clock. I must have dozed a little because next thing I knew it was 5:00. Might as well … Continue reading Good Morning 8-23-21

It’s been a terrible news week. That is to say, horrific things were going on in other parts of the world in which the United States had a hand. Lest you managed to not notice, we made a disastrous pullout from Afghanistan after twenty years of military engagement. This is not to say we shouldn’t have left much sooner. There are even arguments to be made that we should never have been there at all, but the precipitous manner in which we left created chaos and left ten to fifteen thousand American citizens trapped there and tens of thousands more … Continue reading Good Morning 8-22-21

“Hey, let’s do lunch.” “I’ll call you later.” “I’m on my way now.” “I just left.” “I’ll be home in about an hour.” “I’ll meet you at seven.” “Send me the reminder and I’ll send in my donation.” “I’ll check my schedule and get back to you.” “The check’s in the mail.” Okay, we aren’t likely to hear that last one very much anymore, but I’m betting you’ve heard or probably said at least a couple of the others. They fall out of our mouths so easily. They are promises we make—and yes, they ARE promises—that we have absolutely no … Continue reading Good Morning 8-20-21