Tag Archives: Resilience

Press On

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In the year 2000, Pixar was riding a wave of success unrivalled in the history of movie studios.  Their first three feature-length films – Toy Story, A Bug Life’s, and Toy Story 2 – had been smash hits.  Two future blockbusters – Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo – were in production. Buoyed by such achievement, what did Pixar do next? … Read more »

Get Back Up

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Like a lot of children born during the depths of the Great Depression, Donnie Dunagan grew up in poverty. But not many kids could say that they became the family breadwinner even before they could read and write.    After winning a talent contest at the age of three-and-a-half, Donnie and his family moved to Hollywood.  He appeared in a… Read more »

The Tabletop Test

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I was a student in college when affordable handheld calculators first hit the market.  A manufacturer’s rep came to one of our classrooms and demonstrated his product’s dazzling array of bells and whistles.  Were there any questions?  A student asked why he should buy this brand of calculator over one that was priced a few dollars less.  Without saying a… Read more »

Don’t Quit

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Throughout Lent, we’re exploring the parables of Jesus – the two dozen or so stories that were his chief means of describing the reality of God’s rule on earth.  Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali made a lasting impression with his fists.  He also made quite an impression with his mouth.  Ali was famous for his mocking bravado: I’m the greatest thing… Read more »

Rockefeller the Owl

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Who knew that a seven-inch tall owl could become a national symbol of resilience? The lumberjacks who felled the 72-foot Norway spruce destined to become this year’s iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree somehow overlooked the presence of a northern saw-whet owl, one of the world’s tiniest avian predators.  The tree had been carefully wrapped and transported by truck almost 200 miles from… Read more »

Keeping Our Hand on the Plow

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Earlier this year, a commentator on a morning TV sports talk show suggested it was time for a veteran NFL quarterback to test the free agent market. Assessing the strains of the player’s relationship with his current team, the commentator said, “It’s like a marriage.  It’s run its course.”  That seems an apt summary of our culture’s half-hearted commitment to… Read more »