Ch. 10: Compassion

  • Since the news of the tragic floods in Texas broke on July 4, I’ve been lifting prayers of love and peace on the social media posts that are sharing the tragic stories of the individuals who were swept away or died as heroes. The algorithms are noticing my trends and are filling my feed with…

    Read more →

  • Is It Enough?

    Is It Enough?

    For the past month, I have been reading, writing, and reflecting on what we – more selfishly, I – can do about the increasing crises and tensions in America. I posed this question in my May 8th blog titled, “How Do We Act In This American Crisis?“: What am I already doing naturally, on a…

    Read more →

  • Once Upon A Time: Remembering Helen Kubik

    Many of us, when we approached the age of reading for ourselves, selected books that offered larger-than-life stories with fairy-tale endings to somehow make our lives a little more fantastic. For those of us who went to Pine Grove Elementary in the 1970s, we lived that fantastic fairy tale, with open-space classrooms, a large reading…

    Read more →

  • A Declaration

    A Declaration

    When I was much younger, I would stand on the side of the road watching the fireworks being launched off of “Luskin’s Hill” just about a mile from my home. With each new sonic boom and brilliant blast of color, amidst the chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” that weaved through the crowd like the ripples…

    Read more →

  • Catcher in the Sky

    Catcher in the Sky

    It is late Friday, just after 10 p.m., and I turn off the news and walk toward the bright red bullseye on the front of the plain brick building. The news reverberates in my mind as I walk through the glass doors, a rush of cold air greeting me, a sterilizing splash that neutralizes the…

    Read more →

  • Gretchie’s Gifts: Free December Download

    For the month of December, I am offering Faith, Hope, and Legacy: a Collection of Christmas Reflections, which features “Gretchie’s Gifts,” at no cost to you. “Gretchie’s Gifts” is the story that kicked off our annual gift drive for the children at Sinai Hospital’s PICU. The story behind the story is compelling, and it took…

    Read more →

  • The Story Behind Our Toy Drive for Sinai PICU

    Here’s why we do this for the beautiful children in the Sinai Hospital PICU:  In 1981, I owned a 1968 Ford Falcon – my first car that was desperately seeking love. I was reminded of this at every red light, when I would have to throw the car into park, rev the engine just enough…

    Read more →

  • Focus on One Thing

    Focus on One Thing

    I made some pretty bold moves this weekend, and I’m a lot better off this Sunday night than I was just 48 hours ago. It’s because of some advice that I received last week, on something totally unrelated to what I just discovered. A little backstory here is necessary. Since the 2016 presidential election, I,…

    Read more →

  • Understanding Our Frustrations And Realizing New Pathways To Resolutions

    America is facing its greatest crisis in my lifetime, and I am realizing that each of us is called to react and act in ways that define our communities, large and small. In the simplest of terms, here’s how I see it. In our lifetimes, we are presented with scenarios that are not always directly…

    Read more →

  • Faith, Hope, and Legacy: A Collection of Christmas Reflections

    Sharing with all of my Baltimore Writer followers… Thank you very much for your interest in Faith, Hope, and Legacy: A Collection of Christmas Reflections, featuring “Gretchie’s Gifts,” my latest Christmas story in memory of my dear friend, Gretchen Trageser Smith. This is a 121-page eBook (PDF format) that can be opened on any smartphone…

    Read more →