Two Silver Coins

Street Scene: There’s that guy, standing at the corner, holding a sign:  “Homeless.  Need food”.   Or, the sign reads – “Will Work for Food”.  Or, you are on your way into a store and are stopped by a young man who tells you he hasn’t eaten in two days, could you spare some money? Then there is that plea on television showing these sad little puppies or kittens who have been abused, and asking for donations.  And, of course, we are asked to help victims of Katrina, or the tsunamis, or the crisis in Nigeria.  It seems like everybody wants money!  And all those pleas tend to give us pause when the next “opportunity” presents itself. Continue reading

The Law of Averages?

The law of averages is a layman’s term used to express a belief that outcomes of a random event will “even out” within a small sample.  Taken from a different standpoint, one could make the argument that left to our own devices or proclivities, each one of us would not be considered average, would not be part of the “evening out”.  However, we are a product of society, and as such we are influenced to move toward that average, like it or not. Continue reading

Comfort Zone (Teller)

Several years ago, on a ferry from Dover to Calais, heading for Antwerp, Belgium, I had no idea that I was in the process of having a heart attack!  That night, this wonderful trip we had planned, visiting the Martin Luther sites in Germany, on to England for the Phantom of the Opera at the Palace Theater and, then, on to the Lake District, came to a crashing halt. Continue reading

Kites, Coke and Isaly’s Ice Cream

Just to set the stage for this essay:  In my early childhood I lived in Steubenville, Ohio, a small city on the banks of the Ohio River,  just across  from the steel mills of Wheeling, West Virginia.  My father was pastor of a Congregational Church and we lived in the parsonage.  Both the church and our house were situated on high hills well above the river and I recall with clarity pieces of my experience there with my two sisters and my parents.

The routines of our family were set by the pastoral work of dad and Sundays were very special.  After worship the family would gather at the table for a delicious meal that mother had prepared.  Dad would always turn on the radio to the Longines-Wittnauer Watch Hour and we would listen to classical music as we ate.  I believe I can trace my love of classical music to that Sunday dinner routine. Continue reading

Ah, Childhood!

My early childhood was spent in Steubenville, Ohio, a small city on the banks of the Ohio River,  just across  from the steel mills of Wheeling, West Virginia.  My father was pastor of a Congregational Church and we lived in the parsonage.  Both the church and our house were situated on high hills well above the river and I recall with clarity pieces of my life there with my two sisters and my parents. Continue reading

Lucky Guy!

Recently, a friend of ours told us of a terrible auto accident her 17-year-old son (call him Mike) had late one night coming back from his shift at a local fast food place.  His 14-year-old Pontiac was destroyed when he swerved to avoid hitting a deer and over-corrected.  His car flipped end over end and came to a jarring stop against a tree.  The air bags did not deploy, but Mike had his seatbelt on and sustained only relatively minor injuries. Continue reading