1998, Congress did something that rarely happens by casting a unanimous vote.  It was to declare February 3rd of each year as Four Chaplains Day.  Each year, events are held by military organizations to commemorate the events of this day in 1943. Methodist minister George L. Fox, Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode (PhD), Catholic priest… Read More »

 Scandals have rocked politics for years.  Congressional leaders and presidents have all faced the shame and embarrassment as their sordid lives spilled into the public arena.  Typically, their wives have managed to skate from scandal.  However, this hasn’t always been the case.  Consider some of the tawdry tales that have fallen from the lives of… Read More »

Is your glass half full or half empty?  Is today partly cloudy or partly sunny?  Do you see the difficulty in every opportunity or the opportunity in every difficulty?  Your answer to the questions probably reveals whether you are an optimist or a pessimist.  I think George Bernard Shaw got it right when he said,… Read More »

 A month ago, a conversation with some teens at church waxed nostalgic as we remembered childhood shows we watched as kids.  For us more-advanced-in-years kids, we remember Captain Kangaroo, Patches and Pockets, and Mr. Rogers.  Since Mr. Rogers was around for 32 years and syndicated reruns are still happening, the teens remembered him. Raising our… Read More »

I love to fly!  That is my preferred way to travel.  In December, we flew from Detroit to Austin, Texas – 1165 miles as the crow flies.  If we had driven, it would have taken over 20 hours and would have added nearly 300 miles.  As it was, our flight lasted about three hours. Taking… Read More »

For those of you who enjoy jigsaw puzzles, you might like to know the history behind their development.  All the credit goes to Londoner John Spilsbury in 1767.  He was an engraver and cartographer who wanted children to learn geography in a fun way.  Taking a world map, he mounted it to a piece of… Read More »

Who doesn’t love Oreos, right?  According to the Oreo website (yes, they have their own website), the “OREO Double Stuf Chocolate Sandwich Cookies have been America’s favorite cookie for over 100 years. Stuffed with twice as much delicious OREO creme, these chocolate sandwich cookies are supremely dunkable. Double Stuf OREO cookies are great for sharing… Read More »

Sometimes, I catch myself wondering about weird things, things that most people couldn’t care less about.  The thought that captured my thoughts recently was all about paper.  I go through plenty of it in the course of a year and always purchase the exact same thing:  8.5 x 11.  That’s the standard, right? But why… Read More »

If you sit down with the family to watch a movie, it’s hard to imagine how long it took for that movie to be made.  Without commercials, the movie lasts about an hour and a half.  “But given all of the phases of production, an average Hollywood studio movie from beginning of development to the… Read More »

What would you like to do for your 95th birthday?  My quick response is, Breathe!  Only the Lord knows the number of our days but since longevity isn’t a part of my family DNA, I’m really not expecting to see 95.  However, if I do, I’ll guarantee you that I would not have any desire… Read More »