To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here On a rain-drenched night in June 1816, an odd group of friends helped shape two of the most enduring horror characters of all time. The gathering on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, featured a veritable Who’s Who of English literary giants from the Romantic era. There was the poet Percy… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Since Mary Sue and I live on a small farm and have the privilege of tending four rescued horses (three “wild” mustangs and one exceedingly retired thoroughbred), people frequently ask if I like to ride. In a word, No. I adore the horses. I love the rhythm of carrying hay bales,… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Ramses II was the most magnificent of all the Egyptian pharaohs. After taking the throne in 1279 B.C., he lived to be 90 and ruled for 66 years. He fathered more than 100 children. Most rulers become known as “the Great” only after they leave the scene. Ramses, however, wouldn’t have hesitated to… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Certain animals look as if they could only have sprung from the imagination of Doctor Seuss. One of those is the gerenuk antelope, a reclusive member of the gazelle family that lives in the semi-arid grasslands and deserts of east Africa. Europeans didn’t even know of their existence until 1879. “Gerenuk”… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here When Michael Jordan announced the first of what would ultimately be his three retirements from the NBA, Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago Bulls, made this proclamation: “He’s living the American Dream. The American Dream is to reach a point in your life where you don’t have to do anything you… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Most people fantasize, from time to time, what it might be like to be the richest person on earth. What if we could buy anything a human heart might possibly desire? For William Randolph Hearst, that fantasy was reality. He actually did buy anything his heart desired. In the process of… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here So, you want to live forever? Most people do, you know. “Our frantic efforts to outlive ourselves” have been primary shapers of human culture for thousands of years. That’s the conclusion of Professor Clay Jones, a faculty member at Talbot Seminary in Los Angeles, in his recent book Immortal: How the… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here On November 1, 1755, the citizens of Lisbon, Portugal were crowded into churches. They were celebrating All Saints Day. At 9:40 am the world as they knew it came to an end. Somewhere offshore there was a sudden lurch at the intersection of two massive tectonic plates. What followed was one… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Eat and Get Out. That’s the slogan at Ed Debevic’s, which since 1984 has been one of Chicago’s iconic restaurants. Ed’s is a not a subtle dining experience. The cuisine appears to have been tele-transported from the 1950s – huge burgers, hand-dipped shakes, jumbo hot dogs, and cheese fries. The servers… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Last week I had a great adventure with a special 13-year-old. As each of our nine grandchildren crosses the threshold into their teens, I’m hoping they will want to join Bah Poo (that would be me) on a trip to a state of their choice. Nico, the oldest of our grands,… Read more »
