Follow the melody
In The Sound of Music [[Robert Wise. 20th Century Fox, 1965.]], the mother superior tells Fraulein Maria, the boisterous postulant nun, to leave the convent to help a mot... »
Personal Accounts
A lesson from Bo
Bo was our golden lab who loved to swim in our pool. He lived for his exercise, and the pool was his domain. One day, my son was learning new strokes and tried the dead m... »
Another layer of Easter
I was thinking about Easter the other night when a line popped into my head: “He did not leave my soul in hell.” It sounded like a Bible passage, but I wasn’t sure. Neith... »
The Man in white
We had just finished a program for 300 teenage inmates at a correctional center in northern India, and many of the boys gathered around us. The theme of our program that... »
The case of the mysterious text
One busy day, I was trying to get my boys to their computer classes on time when we realized that we couldn't find one of their textbooks nor the house key. More frayed n... »
A tale of two camps
A friend of mine told me that when she was young, even though her family was close and they loved one another very much, fairness was always an issue. She said that when... »
When your son is caught sleeping
On the way home after an evening outing with some friends, I asked my youngest if he had a good time. “Sort of,” he answered. “But the kids on the playground were teasing... »
Building good workplace relationships
I have a neighbor who is a very good handyman. A while ago, he did some work for us in the house but seemed to be very grouchy and out of sorts. When I tried to help or g... »
Learning from the hurt
It’s my 20th year living and working in the former Yugoslavia. I also lived here earlier, right after President Tito died in 1980. His pictures were still hanging everywh... »
Talking vs listening
The small cafeteria at our workplace was abuzz with chatter. Colleagues sat in groups and the room was humming with conversation. That morning I felt I had little to cont... »
The way out
In a 1968 episode of the original Star Trek, the crew of the starship Enterprise encounters an intergalactic species whose lives are far more fast-paced than those of the... »
Speed up, slow down
The books on the shelf have similar titles: Slowing Down Modern Life, The Rush Culture, Putting a Price on Speed … Most everyone agrees that contemporary life is lived in... »