Columns – Page 63 – FindYourBuriedTreasure

“Peace on Earth” has a new meaning now

I received a number of comments on last week’s column about my trip to Duluth for a Toastmasters presentation the previous weekend. Some people mentioned their own visits to – or memories of –Duluth, including someone who recommended that I visit the aquarium the next time I’m in Duluth, if I haven’t already done so. I haven’t, but will make a point of it the next time I go. Others commented – and eloquently so – on Lake Superior, in response to my mentioning the [...]

By bettyliedtke|December 23rd, 2011|Columns, Family, Holidays, Travel, Uganda|Comments Off

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 of day could not have [...]

By bettyliedtke|December 16th, 2011|Columns, Professional Speaking, Toastmasters, Travel, Uganda|Comments Off

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 big hug and a little [...]

By bettyliedtke|December 9th, 2011|Columns, Family, Toastmasters, Travel, Uganda, Uncategorized|Comments Off

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 one is the alarming Black [...]

By bettyliedtke|December 3rd, 2011|Columns, Family, Holidays, Respect, Values|Comments Off

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 vacations, especially if they were [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 27th, 2011|Columns, Faith, Family, Health and Well-being, Holidays, Making a Difference, Travel, Values|Comments Off

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 paid at all, as when [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 18th, 2011|Columns, Making a Difference, Travel, Uganda|Comments Off

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, even when surrounded by large [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 11th, 2011|Columns, Family, Travel, Writing|Comments Off

Rest and reflections on the first day back

I slept till around noon the day after I got back from Uganda. Actually, it was noon in Uganda. Here in Minneapolis, in my own bed for the first time in almost three weeks, it was 3:58 a.m. I popped awake and couldn’t fall back asleep, but I’m not sure if it was because of jet lag or because once I was awake my brain immediately filled up with so many thoughts that it was impossible to turn them off and go back to sleep. [...]

By bettyliedtke|November 4th, 2011|Columns, Travel|Comments Off

A language everyone can understand

(Note: While I am in Uganda, the Chanhassen Villager is running some of my favorite travel-related columns. This column was originally published on August 23, 2007. I’ve been accused of being an idealist. Of looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. Of being delusionally optimistic. And I have to admit, I’m guilty as charged. But seeing and celebrating the good that’s in people doesn’t mean I won’t acknowledge that there’s anything bad. Looking at the big picture doesn’t mean I don’t examine the little details. [...]

By bettyliedtke|October 31st, 2011|Columns, Toastmasters, Travel|Comments Off

Taking pride in the journey home

(Note: While I am in Uganda, the Chanhassen Villager is running some of my favorite travel-related columns. This column was originally published on July 3, 2008.) It was Sunday morning, and my daughter and I were on the 9:30 shuttle from our hotel to the Orlando airport. My husband had to fly out on business the day before, and my son wasn’t able to take the time off work to attend his sister’s graduation in Florida, so it was just the two of us returning [...]

By bettyliedtke|October 29th, 2011|Columns, Family, Travel|Comments Off

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