I did something last week that I haven’t done in a long, long time. I set my alarm for midnight, and when it went off I got up, bundled up, and slipped out the back door. I brushed the snow off one of the chairs on our deck, sat down, and leaned way, way back. I positioned myself so I could see as much of the sky as possible. Then I watched and waited. I had read a few days earlier about the Quadrantids, a [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
(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 [...]
The theme of one of our recent Toastmasters meetings was “The Secret Ingredient.” The person who was serving as the Toastmaster that day was someone who loves to cook, and whenever she gives a speech or responds to a question on the subject of food, I always find my mouth watering just listening to her. Throughout the meeting, she made references to her grandmother, who always included a secret ingredient in her cooking. No matter what type of food she was preparing, Grandma gave it [...]
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on July 28, 2011. My husband and I went up north last weekend. Except we had to drive south to get there. We spent the weekend with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, who live in the Chicago area but recently bought a cabin at Fox Lake, which is about a two-hour drive north from their house. From ours, it’s a six-hour drive in the other direction. It was a great weekend, and other than the time we spent riding out the storms....
The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on July 14, 2011. I’ve always been fascinated by the story of King Solomon, and by his wisdom – in those Biblical times before DNA testing was available – in determining who was the real mother of a baby that two women were fighting over....