Magic and majesty in a trip to Duluth
I was in Duluth last weekend for a presentation at a Toastmasters educational/training event. Two friends came with me, partly because they wanted to hear me speak and partly for moral support and for a bit of a girls’ weekend. It was late on Friday afternoon when we got to Duluth. For several miles, I had been admiring and commenting on the bright, full moon in the crisp, clear sky. As we reached the edge of Lake Superior, the time [...]
When friends and moms get together
I had coffee last weekend with a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. We first met each other at a Toastmasters event years ago, and found we had a lot in common. We used to see each other pretty regularly, then our schedules, work and timetables shifted. We still touched base from time to time, but until last weekend I hadn’t seen her in ages. You can probably guess how the next part of this goes. After a [...]
A hope and a plea for happy holidays
You don’t say Happy Birthday to others when it’s your birthday. You wish them a Happy Birthday when the birthday is theirs. And you don’t tell someone Happy Anniversary on the date of your own wedding anniversary, unless the person you’re saying it to happens to be your spouse. I bring this up with the hope of diffusing what I see as a dangerous and ugly holiday tradition. And we’ve had plenty of those over the years. The most recent [...]
Third world thoughts and thanksgiving
I have always thought that everyone in America should be required to spend some time, at some point in their lives, in a third world country. I felt this way long before I ever spent time in a third world country, and I do even more so now. The trip could be for any reason. Mission trips are already common, but trips for business or education – whether to teach or to learn – would also be acceptable. As would [...]
In need of a miracle, and of people who care
They are beautiful young women. Girls, actually, with many of them between the ages of 18 and 25, and some even younger. They have sweet, shy smiles, but very little to smile about. They live and work in the slums near Kampala, and the way they earn their money is the only way they can. They don’t get much for their efforts. A few thousand Ugandan shillings, which equals less than a dollar in U.S. currency. Sometimes they don’t get [...]
Learning – and unlearning – in Uganda
A few of the things I learned in Uganda: What ostrich meat and boiled goat taste like; How to say “How are you,” “Fine,” and “Thank you” in Lugandan and Swahili, and how much fun it is to say names like Musa, Magala, and Busembatia out loud; That if you can drive a car in Kampala and live to tell about it, you can drive anywhere in the world. I also learned how isolated and alone it’s possible to feel, [...]