Author: Stan Escott

A Perfect Gift

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We are well into the holiday season and Christmas is just a few weeks away.  I have been giving that a lot of thought, recalling those Christmas morning as a child and all the wonder and excitement.  Then I flash to mornings with my own children and relive those memories.

Another thought occurs to me:  Those mornings as a child, what did I learn?   What did I take away from the experience?  I have the same question about my own children’s experience.  What was their impression of those times?  What did they learn?  What did they take away that is now a part of their lives and the lives of our grandchildren? Continue reading

Taking Inventory

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I never got around to making a Bucket List.  I guess I was just too busy living to take the time.  What I do have are those things, events, accomplishments, etc. that I actually did that might have appeared on my Bucket List, had I taken the time earlier to do that.  What I am left with is a kind of Blessings List, markers that we were there, we left our footprints, and we are left with great memories. Continue reading

Life Interrupted

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Passing by on the other side.  How many of us have done that over the years?  Maybe not as dramatically as the parable that Jesus tells, but nevertheless real.  Passing by on the other side is an easy way out.  It is similar to saying I haven’t got time to do this, or I am not qualified, or maybe I could get sued, or better yet, I might get dirty.  Indeed!

Whatever the reason, passing by on the other side is a standard.  We all have done it at one time or another.  We divert our eyes, we cross over to the other side of the street. We don’t want to be inconvenienced and we are not sure we want to get involved in another’s trouble. Continue reading

The “C” Word!

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I never expected to hear the word cancer, especially when there had not been cancer as far back in the family tree as we could remember.  As I sat there, denial washed over me and I thought:  Mistake!  Can’t be!  Yet, there it was.

My wife and I had watched as the thoracic surgeon played the results of my PET scan and Bang! a nodule, bright and shining popped up before our eyes, and we heard his words:  “It’s as hot as a light bulb and it’s got to come out, now!” Surgery should be scheduled soon, he says, and we found it difficult to process those words. Continue reading

Under the Influence?

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Under the influence!  What does that phrase bring to mind?  Did it register with you as being in an altered state of mind because of the use/abuse of alcohol or other drugs, such as marijuana.  Or, possibly that altered state was the result of a crisis in your life, or perhaps the powerful influence of those around you? Continue reading

Safe

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Safe.  Such a little word.  We know what it means in baseball and in banks.  When we use it to describe our sense of presence, it strongly implies physical safety.  It is a little like security, but a bit closer to peace.  Safe.

David Foster and Carol Bayer Sager have written a beautiful, special song, “The Prayer“, which captures the meaning and importance of a spiritual presence, which, by its very nature, is part and parcel of being “safe”: Continue reading

Dedicated to Peace

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Recently I participated in a dedication ceremony for a “Peace Pole”.  The multi-sided pole states in several languages our mutual hope for peace in our world.  In our small community we have many of these symbols of peace, scattered in various locations where they serve as a reminder of what is important.

Throughout this country there is a disappointing sense that peace is so illusive, that to pursue it is a fool’s errand”, or not “cost-effective” or it would wreak havoc on our “military industrial complex”!  Somehow, along the way, we have lost that very important guiding principle that was once so powerful that it caused the birth of our country!  Freedom without peace, or peace without freedom — neither one works until they are joined. Continue reading

A Most Appropriate Memorial

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For years, on Memorial Day weekend, my wife and I have visited the cemetery where my parents are buried.  It has become a tradition that helps us focus on memories and the role that mother and dad played in my life.  As we stood at the graveside, I recalled a short story, a work of fiction that our daughter had written about her grandmother, whom she never met, since my daughter was born years after my mother died. Continue reading

Two Silver Coins

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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?

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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)

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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

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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