Oniontown Pastoral: The Thanksgiving Blizzard’s Sweet Nothings

A festive spirit often accompanies weather that cancels school days. Staring slack-jawed at fat flakes riding the gusts and piling up at three inches an hour can feel like a tonic going down. If you’re normally able to get out and do as you please, being homebound can invite the soul to take a cleansing breath. Continue reading

Oniontown Pastoral: The Relevance of Canning Tomatoes

You wonder what there is for you to say or do. Remember that the reality you’re caught up in right now can’t stop the sauce you make from being delicious. Continue reading

A Post on My Matters of Conscience Blog

What I have to say is important enough that I’ll share on my “non-political” blog.

Oniontown Pastoral: Anything You Want

The truth about songs of your youth is they raise your heart’s curtain. They do mine, anyway. Time punches the accelerator; neither you nor I can slow it down. My thumping ventricles make me dream of being saxxy, but my veins are in their seventh decade of service and feel each season peeling out into the next. Continue reading

Hanging on and Letting Go

My guess, late 1947, their first apartment, no children yet. Mom is seated, Dad standing over her shoulder, passing her hair through his fingertips. Their expressions are carefree, Mona Lisa smiles on them both. The instant is tender, the future a blue heaven of hope. Continue reading

Oniontown Pastoral: Holding My Wife During the Evening News

Far more than decent, the day verged on merry. Kathy and I safely traversed the afternoon, walked foxhound Sherlock Holmes, and settled in for ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir. That last step was a mistake. Continue reading

A Letter to My Grandsons’ Mother

Hardly anything is simple anymore. Children’s car seats now have expiration dates. Tiny screens are here to stay, but they anesthetize little brains. How long is too long? And, panning the camera for a global look, our climate is, like parents right now, under duress.  Continue reading