Celebrating the Journey

 My childhood friend Bob Schowalter and I spent countless hours at Shoop Park in Racine, Wisconsin playing golf during our late elementary and junior high school years. The first three holes of the course are adjacent to the beach of Lake Michigan. No telling how many of my errant golf balls have since deteriorated at the bottom of that Great Lake. Bob and I were decent golfers for our age bracket, but I seriously doubt that it occurred to us…

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 I came to the stunning realization last night that I am indeed clueless. I have suspected as much for quite some time, but finally received real confirmation.  At the conclusion of a meeting at church last night, one of the attendees mentioned that his daughter in law will soon be traveling from Texas to Minnesota to meet with a young widow up there. A little background information might be helpful. This gentleman’s son died just over a year ago from…

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 When I lecture to groups regarding serving people in times of crisis, there is always one theme that will not go unmentioned. I attempt to gently remind all of us that the phrase: call me if there is anything I can do is not helpful to people in the middle of a personal traumatic event such as serious illness or the loss of a family member. Individuals in crisis do not have the energy to call for help. Their thought…

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 I had the strangest dream last night and again early this morning. In the dream, I ate a steak dinner at one of my favorite places in Lubbock with a group of friends, whom I have longed to see for decades. I knew all of these individuals in high school and some of them in junior high. The dream was very odd. There were friends from the east coast and others from the west coast. Former speech team comrades from…

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 To our friends from the Class of 1980, who have gone before us: It is July 24th in Lubbock, Texas. We have been wondering the halls of Monterey High School this afternoon. You know it is our 30 year reunion. You are not going to believe this, but the hallways here at MHS….Well, they just don’t look right. They are carpeted and the classrooms are air conditioned. Kids these days… But don’t worry… we are looking beyond the veneer of…

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 Sir…Sir…Here is your cup for your drink… Oh, I am sorry. I was off in another world, I told the young high school girl working at Taco Villa at noon today. I went on to tell her that I ate there everyday with my friends, when we were in high school. I suspect she thought I needed to be committed somewhere. I was just a little too enthusiastic about eating at Taco Villa of all places. And I think she…

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 The summer of 1979 is particularly memorable for me for some reason. That may be attributed to the fact that it was the first summer break that I had my own car to drive! I went worked hard that summer at the SPD Car Wash situated on a corner of South University in Lubbock near the South Loop. When 6:00 p.m. rolled around each evening, I always had plans with my friends. There were short overnight camping trips, golf games,…

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Some dear friends of mine recently met with their high school classmates for a 30 year reunion. I can’t imagine being that old, so it was fun to hear a few stories about their time of reconnecting. As they made final preparations for the big event, I started wondering what it would be like to be with old friends and acquaintances that you have not seen for decades, in some instances. All kinds of images started running through my head. Here…

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