This will be my last “live” blog post for a while. Next week at this time I’ll be on a plane, somewhere between Amsterdam and Entebbe, preparing for almost a month in Uganda. We work pretty much sunup to sundown when in Uganda, and email and internet service can be spotty at best, so I know better than to even try to post anything while I’m gone. Instead, if I have my act together and get everything done that I need to do before I [...]
106. That’s the number of railway cars there were in the freight train we got stopped by during a recent two-day drive to Chicago. We arrived too early to check into the hotel where we were spending the first night, so we drove around for a bit. It was a small town, much like the one I grew up in, and it took us only a few minutes driving down Main Street to get to the edge of town. We enjoyed noting the various types [...]
“The day was filled with miracle after miracle.” That’s what my friend Tabitha told me on the phone the other day. She was calling from Uganda, where she’s doing some prep and planning for the work we’ll do when she and I – along with several others – go back in a few months. For those who aren’t familiar with my work or my story, Tabitha and I have been on a mission ever since she read an article in a Ugandan newspaper about a [...]
I had a very upsetting dream last night, having to do with my upcoming trip to Uganda. In the dream, I was carpooling to the airport with my friend from Uganda and two others who were going with us. Never mind that I live in Georgia and the others are all in Minnesota. At some point, I thought about my passport, which I had put in my suitcase as soon as I started packing, so I would be sure not to forget it. But I [...]
A friend of mine was going to a conference in New Orleans last week. Since she’d never been there, she arranged to stay a few extra days for a mini-vacation. The person who was going to join her ended up having to cancel, so she called and asked if I was available, and if I wanted to go. I was, and I did, so I booked a flight to New Orleans, and met her at her hotel as soon as the conference was over. This [...]
I logged in almost 3,000 miles this week, starting with a two-hour drive to the Atlanta airport, then a flight to Minneapolis, and finally a scenic drive from there across the Canadian border and on to Winnipeg. There I spoke - along with two other women - for approximately 20 minutes to the Rotary Club of Winnipeg. After the meeting, we got back in the car and did the trip in reverse. Not all at once, but over the course of a few days. It [...]
It wasn’t anything close to a felony. Even as misdemeanors go, it was pretty minor. Still, I didn’t want it forever on my record. Or, even worse, my conscience. My husband and I were returning home from an 800-mile road trip. I bought a cup of coffee at a gas stop along the way, and on my way out of the store, I glanced at a rack of maps and brochures—the kind of promotional and complimentary material found at many rest stops and convenience stores [...]
We were just getting out of our car in the parking garage at the Atlanta Airport when I got the text message from my sister. “Have you left for the airport yet? Because we’re going to be late.” My sister and her son were coming to visit us for a long weekend, and we were picking them up at the airport. But after they had boarded their plane in Chicago, a minor problem was discovered with a cargo door on their plane. Maintenance was still [...]
We flew to Chicago last weekend to visit my in-laws. Seated next to me on the plane was an elderly woman who reminded me of Rosa Parks. We became fast friends after I helped her with her seat belt, which was twisted in such a way that it wouldn’t fasten properly. She later returned the favor by helping me pull my tray table out of the armrest between us. We chatted, off and on, during the flight. I learned that she’s almost 91, that she’s [...]
A landline telephone. Paper calendars. Print versions of books and newspapers. These are items I refuse to part with, even under pressure – sometimes subtle, sometimes intense – to embrace their technological replacements. Holding on to them often feels like a losing battle, but it’s one I’ll keep fighting nonetheless. It’s a battle that’s come to the forefront, in different ways and with different results, during my recent move to Georgia. Wherever we’ve lived, I’ve always subscribed to a daily newspaper – the Chicago Tribune, [...]