Musical woods
It’s sometimes called the most human of instruments, because it has the noble mission of expressing our deepest emotions. It sings in its deep vibrant voice to touch our... »
Curtis Peter van Gorder
The abalone and me
An abalone is a shellfish that sticks to rocks in coastal waters. It’s a gastropod, which means that its stomach is its foot—it walks on its stomach. And apart from its s... »
My flight foible
When I was in the darkness of my struggle, I didn’t want to talk about it, but now that the light is on, I can. To make a long story short: no show, no go. And now the fu... »
Less is more
One day I was out and saw a new electronic scale that takes a person’s weight, correlates it with his or her height, and plots a graph that shows whether that person is u... »
Jolly Roger or mister Rogers?
To know where something is, you often have to find out where it ain’t. This contrast jumped out at me recently while viewing two docudramas. One was The Lost Pirate Kingd... »
The man who found Christmas
My wife and I once saw a German stage production of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. You likely know the story of a miserly banker who transforms into a kind and ge... »
Positively grateful
I recently stumbled upon a fascinating book in a used book store. The premise of The Secret Life of Water, by Masaru Emoto, is that water reflects the positive or negativ... »
Diamond in an anthill
I came across a gem of an article from a 1997 Reader’s Digest about what was then the world’s largest-producing diamond mine—the Argyle mine, in Western Australia. At its... »
Filling a need
Ted and Dorothy were a young couple who bought Wall Drug, a drugstore in a small town in the western United States, in 1931. In those days, a drugstore was like a conveni... »
Tree planters
For several years, I was part of a theater group that often performed the inspiring allegorical tale “The Man Who Planted Trees.” It’s the story of Elzéard Bouffier, an o... »
Miracles from the maestro
It is said that there are three artists that give us music: God, who gives us magical wood to make the instruments; the instrument maker, who after months of labor awaken... »
The tempest tree
If you’ve ever felt like your whole life has been uprooted and you have no idea how you’ll make it to the next day, take heart from the Turner’s Oak—a 16-meter-tall giant... »
Joy to the world
Christmas is a time of joy and celebration. Many countries have unique customs and traditions that help make this a happy season. In Mexico, starting nine days before Chr... »