A few years ago I happened to be walking out of a jet bridge alongside the actor Michael Keaton. He was alone, caught for a moment between the protection of the first class cabin and the bodyguard waiting at the…
The stories of the wittiest are probably false. Oscar Wilde allegedly said, “Either this wallpaper goes or I do,” but those present reported nothing and it wasn’t until years later that the story of his wit in the face of…
One day when my daughter was about three, I came home, sat on the couch, opened the afternoon newspaper, and buried myself inside its pages. My daughter toddled up with a book in her hand and said, “Daddy, please read…
Memory is such a trickster. I came across a lost document while helping my dad and stepmom clean out their condo recently, notes from Monday, January 28, 2008, and the opening of the Buechner Institute at King College in Bristol,…
Makoto Fujimura operates on a different plane than I do. His art is exhibited worldwide, best-selling author David Brooks refers to him as “my friend” in books and New York Times columns, and Mako even worked as an advisor to…
Quentin Tarantino’s film Once Upon a Time . . . In Hollywood debuted toward the end of summer. It is star-packed with Leonardo DeCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie, who all shine. It features Tarantino’s usual collection of old-timers like…
Yuck factor warning: what follows will address bodily functions. Our bodies, and the functions of our bodies, are often sources of shame and embarrassment. Ever notice how large the incontinence section is in drug stores? There are about 25 million…
In the fall of 1977, Linda Ronstadt came to Michigan State University. In those innocent days, concert tickets were sold at the box office. I was in a group of guys who camped out the night before the tickets went…
Alone, all aloneNobody, but nobodyCan make it out here alone.- Maya Angelou Hey you, out there in the coldGetting lonely, getting oldCan you feel me?- Pink Floyd I gotta group. Everybody needs a group. Do you have a group? As…
When the Buildings and Grounds Superintendent signed up to read a poem, I knew we were onto something. We have a daily community gathering after chapel at Western Theological Seminary where we do introductions, announcements, and share prayer concerns. In…
