Values – FindYourBuriedTreasure

American Food for Thought

Hamburgers or hot dogs. Which food would you say is more American? How about peanut butter and jelly or grilled cheese? Apple pie or chocolate chip cookies? These were some of the decisions I had to make—along with my three teammates—at a recent training session for upcoming school field trips to the Georgia Writers Museum, where I’m an active volunteer. The project wasn’t really about food, however. It was about discussion, debate, and decision-making. It was about the voting process. The preparations were in advance [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 4th, 2026|Accountability, Columns, Making a Difference, Respect, Values|Comments Off

Reflections and Resolutions

New Year’s Day is a celebration of new beginnings. Ash Wednesday begins a season of sacrifice. Yet both have something in common for me, and they involve thoughtful planning and reflection. Anyone who has read my columns or blogs for any length of time knows I still make New Year’s Resolutions every year. I give some thought to them, and try to come up with resolutions I can actually keep. Whether I really do is another story, of course, but I give it my best [...]

By bettyliedtke|February 18th, 2026|Accountability, Columns, Faith, Holidays, Values|Comments Off

Gifts from the Heart

At my writers group’s holiday party, one of our members shared a story from her days as a 2nd grade teacher back in the mid-1980s. It was about the last day of school before Christmas vacation, when a shy young student stayed behind after everyone else had left the classroom. The little girl apologized that she hadn’t been able to get a gift for her teacher as the other kids had done. She explained that her mother said they couldn’t afford it. But the girl [...]

By bettyliedtke|December 19th, 2025|Columns, Holidays, Values|Comments Off

A Different View

A lot of people honked their horns and waved, or gave us a “thumbs up” as they drove past. But I saw three “thumbs down” signals, and a handful—no pun intended—of middle fingers. One elderly man shouted “F*** you!” several times while waiting for the traffic light to change, and another rolled down his window to yell out, “Are y’all getting paid?” Most of the responses, however, were positive and supportive. My husband and I did something on Saturday that I can’t remember us ever [...]

By bettyliedtke|June 17th, 2025|Columns, Making a Difference, Quotes and Sayings, Values|2 Comments

Never in my life…

I can’t tell you how many times in the last four days I’ve heard someone start a sentence with those—or similar—words. It all began last Thursday. I turned the TV on around noon, shortly after white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney indicated that a new pope had been elected. But as yet, no one knew who he was—and no one would, until he came out onto the Vatican balcony for the first time. Although I had other things to do, I stood there, mesmerized, [...]

By bettyliedtke|May 12th, 2025|Columns, Faith, Making a Difference, Respect, Values|Comments Off

All dressed up

The last real dress-up event I can remember going to was my son’s wedding. But that was eight years and more than a few pounds ago, so even though my dress from that day has been hanging in my closet ever since, I didn’t think it was a viable option for today. Unfortunately, I was right. The reason I needed a fancy dress now is that I’m going to a black-tie event organized by Georgia Writers Museum, which is a co-sponsor of the Townsend Prize [...]

By bettyliedtke|April 16th, 2025|Columns, Health and Well-being, Respect, Values|2 Comments

A Philosophical Question

When my kids were little, I always enjoyed taking them to the library, and realized early on that the Children’s section had a wealth of information and ideas for adults, too—especially those who were considering starting a new hobby or activity, like gardening, painting, or making gross-looking snacks for Halloween. Children’s books were quicker to read and easier to understand than the “How-to” books in the Adults section, and provided a basic overview and instructions for getting started. This, of course, was long before YouTube [...]

By bettyliedtke|March 29th, 2025|Columns, Family, Values|Comments Off

A Loaf and a Lightbulb

I’m sure most of us are familiar with some variation of the story about a reporter who once asked Thomas Edison how it felt to fail so many times while trying to invent the lightbulb. Edison replied, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” I can relate to that. It’s how I felt while making a loaf of sourdough bread. I actually tried making sourdough bread a few years ago, after reading that it’s a healthier bread choice for diabetics. [...]

By bettyliedtke|February 7th, 2025|Achieving Dreams and Goals, Columns, Success, Values|Comments Off

Farewell to a Friend

I first met Jeannette when we both lived in Roanoke, Virginia, and were members of the Newcomers Club. In addition to attending the monthly luncheons, she and I were both avid readers and were members of the Newcomers’ Book Club, as well as the “Stitch ’n’ Chat” group, and a few other Newcomers small groups. When my family moved to Colorado, she sent me a letter telling me about an author who was local to my new area, and whose books she was enjoying. “I [...]

By bettyliedtke|January 29th, 2025|Columns, Values, Writing|Comments Off

Let’s resolve this.

One of the members of my writing group is a woman from South Korea. She’s had a difficult life, both there and here, and has shared with us some heartfelt and thoughtful observations about her life and experiences—again, both there and here. At our last meeting, she read a piece that touched on New Year’s Resolutions, noting that once, when she had a January appointment with her dentist, she asked him what his New Year’s Resolutions were. He said he didn’t make any. She wrote [...]

By bettyliedtke|January 21st, 2025|Accountability, Achieving Dreams and Goals, Columns, Holidays, Quotes and Sayings, Values, Writing|Comments Off

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