Yesterday was the annual flag-waving, grill-cooking, parade-watching, and fireworks display celebration inspired by events over 200 years ago. I spent it at a performance of The Lion King. This week’s post is an edited rerun of what I posted a year ago, in 2023. What I wrote then seems to describe where we are a year later so I decided to take the week off to enjoy time with family. Here’s to summer reruns. The […]
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Elder William and Mary Brewster
I discipline churchgoers with godly lessons and sharp words if they do not change their ways. My goal is to open their hearts so that they seek forgiveness. (William Brewster) William and Mary Brewster are my great x 12 grandparents. While doing research for the two historical novels I wrote with them as the main characters, I spent as much time in the 16th and 17th centuries as I did in the 21st one. The […]
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Armistice Day
In 2018, on Armistice Day (now known as Veterans Day), I was sailing toward New York on the Queen Mary 2. So much has happened since then. We’ve changed presidents and struggled through a global pandemic that is still infecting people. We’ve watched in horror as Putin invaded Ukraine and now Hammas has started the war between Gaza and Israel that is claiming thousands of innocent lives. Armistice Day 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of a […]
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How Much is Enough?
Someone posed a Facebook question recently that got me thinking about how much our attitudes are part of our financial portfolio. The question was, “How much more money would you need to feel secure?” Answers varied from specific dollar amounts to expressions of gratitude for having enough now, but recalling times when a few dollars would have made a big difference. I’ve been thinking lately about how much is enough. How Much is Enough? My […]
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Columbus or Indigenous Peoples’ Day
In 1937 Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared October 12 a federal holiday. I grew up knowing it as Columbus Day in honor of Christopher Columbus. In recent years pushback from the Native American community has led numerous communities to rename it as Indigeneous Peoples’ Day, now noted on calendars as the second Monday in October. I have a vested interest in this issue for two reasons. I now live in the city named […]
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