Here in late September 2020, as so much else swirls around us, another historic moment flows silently through our midst. This Monday will be my 75th birthday. Now, mind you, I have no sense that mortality is closing in on me any time soon (although life is full of surprises), but I do feel ...
So this summer has been anything but fun at the Wise Guyde household. My brother passed away in mid-July, and then I was in a collision that totaled our white Camry. It also battered my right leg, which resulted in five days of antibiotic drip at Jefferson Hospital and so far a month of keeping ...
There he lay in his hospital bed, my brother for most of the last eight decades, sleeping, breathing gently without support. He looked rather peaceful, his color was good; he had lost a little weight, but not enough to make him look skeletal. Yet his body was now home to skin cancer, lung ...
We are blessed with an abundance of fauna this year, more so than in previous years.In May, our resident groundhog made his appearance. He's been living under our front porch for two years. Apparently the single adult we kept seeing was actually two different adults taking turns getting some ...
Remember the old TV commercial "airplanes flying, children crying?" I think it was an ad for some sort of pain killer, probably not scotch. We apparently have a blessing during the pandemic: no "airplanes flying." I'm not sure the airlines feel blessed.On Sunday, I heard of a man feeling worn ...
Camelot made an appearance in Ledge-Lowe (Estateswe usually just say Ledge-Lowe; "Estates" is too embarrassing) last Wednesday evening, April 15th.It all began, I suppose, with the gracious charm and loving demeanor of Carianne Schmidt, a neighbor here who radiates goodness.It continued with a ...
How are you doing with social distancing? So far, no one has told me that they are going crazy. My own observations are these.People are largely enjoying the respite from the usual grind. Most people don't have to get up in the morning with the alarm. It's true, all the cancellations may have ...
So the season of Lent is upon those who are followers of Jesus. Meaning "springtime," the word "Lent" captures the true spirit of the season better than the sometimes foreboding overtones of institutional observances.Spring is the season when we say that the earth renews itself. The weather ...
Since I am composing this column on Sunday afternoon, I do not know how the impeachment trial has unfolded. I do, however, know that this week, which began with Martin Luther King Day, was followed by a presidential impeachment trial pregnant with archetypal significance.While much lot could be ...
One of the many blessings of living in Shepherdstown is how easy it is to keep hope alive, because of all the great people here. In the dedication to her inspiring novel, "The Truest Color" (will you ever forget Runt?), Betty Snyder refers to the "dear hearts and gentle people" in ...