The old paradigm is gone. It seems people no longer consider age a boundary marker. It used to be that “retirement” was regulated by years. Now we say, “Sixty is the new forty.” One student, who discovered my age, in an obvious lapse of decorum, intoned that I was “older than his parents.” Yeah. That
The line Between Here and There Now and Then Does not exist In the way We think, Enamored, As we are, With what We think. Instead Of what He thinks. The Majesty Of the moment Is in every Clock’s tick Our opportunity Our responsibility Our urgency To live As if Tomorrow We die [We will]
“How ya’ doin’?” is the general way the question is asked. People who ask it fall into categories. Some mean, “Hi.” The question becomes an informal greeting. The person isn’t expecting you to answer. Others wonder, truly, about your well-being. The individual is expecting a reply akin to “Fine, thank you.” Their interest is intentional,
My children dragged me kicking and screaming into poems and their poets in the 90’s. And I am ever thankful that they did. Now, I wonder if I could live without it, without expressing myself in it, without giving the poetry of Scripture its due. This week I discovered Marianne Moore, a modernist poet whose
202* Asterisk *stars* are used for emphasis instead of C*PITALIZING expunging the vowel in a prof*nity a symbol in c*lculation footn*tes in essays r*dialing the last call For all these reasons I will use the asterisk to mark This year. To expunge a day To multiply days To emphasize daily To footnote the date To
I sat on the deck Talking to him tonight Smoke and glass hand Telling him how much I miss him On this earth with me Ahead of the artic blast I shiver and shake Not for cold But for the absence The son who is On the Other Side To say
There are only two choices. Give me a minute to explain. “Humanly speaking,” “not necessarily,” and “it does not automatically follow” are phrases we use to admit our best plans, policies, and practices are ultimately outside our control. Our individual, limited viewpoint – we are all fallen, fallible, finite – leaves us with only two
This speech was delivered during the 2025 Research Week Awards Ceremony (30 April 2025). Many thanks for the kind invitation from Jeremy McGinness, Associate Dean, Research, Instruction, and Collections. Further thanks is owed to Dr. John Eller whose three-volume biography of Ray Bradbury I mined for background information. In addition, I thank The Ray Bradbury
What’s my job as a professor? Give me a minute to explain. My job, as a professor, is to hold a mirror up to myself and my students, asking each one of us to be honest about our beliefs. We may not agree with each other. But to appreciate others’ points of view, without necessarily
Are you a YouTube commercial, advertising your beliefs? Give me a minute to explain. Sports teams and race car drivers wear the names of advertisers on their uniforms. And I wonder what kind of advertisements are seen on us? How have we been influenced by groups, organizations, institutions, or communities? How do our views of
Before I open a book, this is what I do. Give me a minute to explain. Thomas Aquinas wrote “A Prayer Before Study” where he prayed, “Grant to me keenness of mind, capacity to remember, skill in learning, subtlety to interpret, and eloquence in speech. May you guide the beginning of my work, direct its
Weather is constantly changing. But we don’t like change. Give Me a Minute to explain why. In her letters Flannery O’Connor stated, “All human nature vigorously resists grace because grace changes us and change is painful” O’Connor’s ideas track with biblical truth. Grace is an undeserved, God-given gift, rescuing us from sin; but we like