The Rampaging River and Life

The Rampaging River and Life

The Illinois River is angry. It overflows its banks and barrels into farms, homes, and businesses. Its swift and churning current carries logs, trees, and animals that couldn’t get out of harm’s way. It’s a deadly enemy without compassion, without remorse, claiming as its own anything in its path. The river has flooded many times […]

Out of Tune and Off Base

Out of Tune and Off Base

Did you ever wake up feeling out of tune and off base? Did it seem that the fuzzy recollection of some unidentifiable dream opened your eyes but left you with an uneasy feeling? Or, do you always greet the day with enthusiasm and shed those feelings of unease like a duck sheds water? If that’s the case, […]

The House I Live In

The House I Live In

Yesterday, as I drove back from Oklahoma, I heard Frank Sinatra sing, The House I Live In. It’s a stirring song about America and many of the things that are right about our country. The song seemed particularly appropriate because I had just driven through some beautiful countryside and was thinking about the beauty of springtime […]

Cleaning Out That Attic of Memories

Cleaning Out That Attic of Memories

A friend of mine is getting ready to move to a different location. She is going through everything in her house, deciding what she wants and what she doesn’t want. I don’t think she has an attic, but if she did, she’d be sorting through it, keeping, discarding. Why can’t we do that with memories? Why […]

The Roaring of the March Lion

The Roaring of the March Lion

Yesterday’s wind was a wild and restless thing, blowing clouds across the sky and roaring through the treetops, sounding like a celestial lion. The day was much too warm for March 6, and such weather makes me uneasy. From time immemorial, people have had to watch the sky for their safety during threatening weather. I […]

A Room Full of Rainbows

A Room Full of Rainbows

Rainbows! On a sunny day, my bedroom is filled with them. They may not be in arches, like the ones we see in the sky, but the bright colors are there, a part of a rainbow on my wall, a smidgen on the floor, a little dab on the ceiling. The room is warm, sunny, […]