Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
Yet again, death has struck a member of my family — my cousin Amy, at 46. Death has visited our family all too frequently and all too early. My father died at 45, brother Steve at 59, brother Kevin at 62. We are a family of unfinished stories. Death leaves its mark when it comes unexpected and early. So many unspoken words So many unsung … Continue reading Passings and Epilogues
My stumbling block in early life was that I didn’t like living with questions. Not at all. In my world answers were the thing. Whether they were right or not was, to me, not the most important thing. What counted was that I had an answer to every question. All that changed one night in 1985 while sharing a bowl of kung pao … Continue reading A Path to Serenity
Forty years ago I met a “good one”: an old gentleman who ran a shoeshine stand in the Eastern Airlines Shuttle Terminal at LaGuardia Airport. I was never sure of his name but most people called him Pete. At the time the hourly shuttle between New York, Boston and Washington was among the busiest in the nation. Everyone was guaranteed a seat, No reservations needed, … Continue reading Tending to Your Own Business
“Doubt grows with knowledge.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Today we hear many voices speak with the ring of dogmatic certainty, where the ugliest of ugly thoughts are hurled out to every time zone. I find myself asking, how can so many be so sure of so much? Socrates once observed, “I know that I don’t know. But you don’t know what you don’t know and … Continue reading When Doubt is an Ally
This is a picture of our 15-month-old grandson Sam attempting to saddle his dog Patches in hopes of catching a ride up to his crib. Isn’t it delightful? Can’t you just feel the connection? The peaceful accord between a baby and a dog. When Sam’s mom Kelly sent the picture we shook our heads in wonderment. How could two different species reach such contented … Continue reading Of Dogs and Babies