"Want to know my worst day driving a bus?" a driver asked me one summer day. "There was a woman on the very back seat with groceries in a couple paper bags. In one of them was a big watermelon. She was busy talking, not payin' much …( read more )

One chose to stay on the farm; the other chose city life. When my mom was a junior in high school, she chose to leave her family farm and marry my dad. Her new life would take her away from her country upbringing and plant her in cities …( read more )

I was on my way to an appointment. I had only left the house and been driving for a matter of minutes, when I realized that I had forgotten something. I hurried back home, opened the front door and walked in. Immediately, I could sense …( read more )

Now that the really warm weather has arrived, the horses get down to business shedding the last of their winter coats. They groom one another with their noses. They sidle up against the fence and then drag themselves along it to loosen …( read more )

When we immigrated to Canada, we had to rent flats in various houses until my father and mother had saved enough money for a down payment on a house of their own. I remember my mother telling me that the very first flat that they rented …( read more )

Recently, I did something unusual. I wrote to a media commentator appealing for mercifulness in his rhetorical style. I offered this reason: Our adversarial world desperately needs moral exemplars — those who consistently exemplify the …( read more )

Don't you just love receiving a gift, especially one that's unexpected? Our Father in heaven is generous and enjoys bestowing gifts on His children. If we allow the Holy Spirit to open our eyes, God will surprise us. Recently this little …( read more )

Six hundred miles was a long way to move a middle-school student. The year was 1970, and I was ten years old. Dad, a freshly ordained Southern Methodist minister, decided that he'd move our family from Orangeburg, South Carolina, USA, to …( read more )

Years ago, a friend gave me a puppet. As it stands there beside my piano, it looks like a mouse talking to me with a protruding mouth. It has curly hair just like me, and it has a clergy robe on. It's a clergy puppet! The piercing eyes are …( read more )

Feeding eight dogs all at the same time is quite the process. In my house, each of the dogs has its own place for eating. As soon as it's mealtime, they are quick to take up their individual spots. Not all of them eat at the same pace, …( read more )

One day, back from my grocery shopping in the nearby mall, I checked the change that I had received from the cash that I had paid for the groceries. My first look was a sure thing: I had received less change than I was owed. This left me …( read more )

One of the places that we visited on our cruise last February and March did not have a large enough harbour to accommodate our ship. So we dropped anchor offshore, and then, people were taken to the shore in small boats. We stayed on …( read more )

Climbing up onto the stable roof and re-tarring all the rolled asphalt shingling is not my idea of fun. In fact, it's one of the last things that I ever wanted to see on my to-do list. And yet there it was: "tar barn roof". Oh me, oh my! …( read more )

We watch a fair number of English mystery shows on television, and some of them start out with the warning: "This show contains coarse language and scenes of violence. Viewer discretion is advised." They warn us, so that we are prepared. …( read more )

During the recent Canadian federal election, several candidates were forced to withdraw after comments they had made on social media surfaced. These comments, which were thoughtless, ill-considered, and sometimes offensive and hateful, …( read more )

Soon after moving into Arcadia Gardens, one of the activities that caught my attention was the steady line of walkers that were heading to the chandeliered dining room. I followed behind with my walker and was led to a table where I had …( read more )

It's strange how we continue to put television and movie superstars on a pedestal, and we think that they are perfect and free from doing wrong. Every so often, one of these stars is exposed for having committed acts of molestation or …( read more )

We all like to receive gifts — on birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, and weddings. Sometimes we get gifts on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Easter. When someone gives us a really thoughtful and meaningful gift, we may …( read more )

In 1961, a ninety-six-mile-long wall was erected by the communist East German government to prevent residents of East Berlin from moving to West Berlin. The wall split families and friends for twenty-eight years and East German guards were …( read more )

Have you met Mr. and Mrs. Grudge? Let me introduce them to you. These people go through life, forgiving with great reluctance and carrying around feelings of ill will over various grievances. The grievances could be real or imagined. On …( read more )

Over the past few years, I have attended three live animal programs. These shows included presentations by air, land, and sea animals. I saw everything from camels to mice responding obediently to the voice of their trainers. One of my …( read more )

A news item one night was about parents who lost a child through another teen's weakness and grave error in judgment. The parents, being interviewed a couple of days after their daughter's death, made a public statement that they not only …( read more )

When I went for my four-kilometre daily walks this past autumn, I would go through an area with apple orchards on both sides of the road. It was a beautiful sight, with apples ripe on the trees. There were always several things which would …( read more )

Back in the 1950s, an American panel game show entitled "To tell the truth" was a big hit with viewers, including me. As a teenager, I enjoyed trying to figure out who the "real" person was before the panel guessed. The show featured a …( read more )

I enjoy word puzzles. One of the puzzles that I enjoy the most involves finding words within a grid. A list of words is given, and those words can run up and down, sideways, or diagonally within the grid. Words can run forwards or …( read more )

Eye surgery. It seems like every time we turn around, someone is having it: eye surgery for their cataracts. I surgery. It seems like every time we turn around, someone ought to get it: I surgery for their selfish attitude. With eye …( read more )

On a cool, breezy September day, I ventured out with a friend to fly kites at Stinson Beach, which is on the northern coast of California, U.S.A., just north of San Francisco. While we began to fly our kites skyward, our eyes were drawn to …( read more )

Philosopher Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Of all the parental and church instructions I hurled out my youth window, it might seem strange that a rebellious teenager would …( read more )

We might wish sometimes that Jesus were still here on earth in human form. It would be absolutely wonderful to see Him today, to ask Him questions, know that He was listening to our prayer requests, and get spoken answers from Him. How …( read more )

The seasons change almost too quickly for my liking. But this is the way it is, and I must comply, even though I would prefer to see a recycling of the times from bad to better – a recycling of all that lacks consideration and …( read more )

I love soup! Before I retired, I never made my own soup, but now that I am retired, I make it all the time. Every batch of soup that I make is different from the previous batch — a little … (read more)

Recently, comments like "You can't be perfect!" or "I know I'm not perfect!" have crossed my ears so frequently that I felt a need to explore this issue from a biblical perspective. What did Jesus mean by the words, "Be … (read more)

I enjoy housework, a clean house, and orderly cupboards. Then I know where things are. Long ago someone needed my help when moving into a smaller apartment. I bagged fifteen large garbage bags full of trash before even starting the … (read more)