Life is a series of meetings, partings

December 8, 2022

The minister at today’s funeral of an old friend said just that from the pulpit: Life is a series of meetings and partings. Later he paired those with happiness and sorrows, joy and suffering. And he really got me thinking. The funeral was for a lovely lady I had known since the first Christmas I lived here 44 years ago. I met Adele in our neighborhood, and she and her husband attended our first party, a trim-a-tree brunch. The admission fee was an ornament – preferably homemade. Hers was adorable, a precursor of the talents she would later display when she opened her beautiful ...

There’s more to story on painting of St. Hubert

December 3, 2022

Editor’s note: This series will connect topics between Christianity and hunting. The series will run throughout the archery and rifle deer seasons. The painting, The Vision of St. Hubert, is by William Carl Rauber in 1892. The painting, at right, depicts the moment when Hubert gazed at ...

Get children involved

December 2, 2022

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Teach me and I’ll remember. Involve me and me and I’ll learn.” Benjamin Franklin Today I want to teach you and involve you so you will learn. The season of Advent is upon us. What exactly is Advent and where did it come from? Advent is a Latin word that means “coming”. Established as early as the sixth century, it refers to the “Sunday nearest to November 30 and running to Christmas Eve”. Christians are to use this time to reflect on the coming of Jesus. Many families and churches use symbols as reminders. Advent wreaths can to ...

Our usual Thanksgiving pies are irresistible

December 1, 2022

My son’s best friend is Walter. When Walter was eight weeks old, my son, Bart, adopted him from a sunny farm in Georgia. While the breeder specialized in yellow Labrador retrievers, Walter is an especially handsome English cream color. I say “our Walter,” because he is my son’s sidekick. Everywhere Bart goes, Walter is within petting or eating distance. He spends work days at Bart’s offices with other employees’ dogs, and walks many miles with his master. So naturally, when Bart arrived last Thanksgiving at my daughter’s house in Massachusetts, Walter was in tow. But ...

The empty place

November 25, 2022

Many of you will have an empty place at your table this year. What does that mean? It most likely means that someone is missing. There are many reasons that a person may be missing. Not all people get multiple days off. Sometimes it is impossible to get home for the Thanksgiving feast. For the past three years we have been missing people. Carly is off to college in Texas and does not make it home. Preston is off working and does not get time off. He works in retail and the store he works at is busy at this time of the year. Usually, we at least talk to Carly via — I think it ...

What are the odds?

November 24, 2022

We’ve all had it happen — that coincidence that is so uncanny it makes us believers in … what? Pre-destination? Chance? Luck? God’s Plan? Hard to say, but I’ve had a few that made me stand up and take notice. For example: the chance that I would be born in the same hospital, the Boston Lying-In, as my mother – well not so surprising, really. But I married a man from Rochester and before we had children we lived in San Diego, Cambridge, Connecticut and back to Massachusetts. Our first child was born in Boston at – you guessed it – the same hospital. And while I do think ...