Easter Sunday, and it snowed nearly six inches in Saint Paul. Mid-April, but it looked more like bleak December. By late afternoon, I’d been stuck in the house way too long and needed an outing. I walked to Como Park, not far from my home. The weather was grim, the low, slate clouds still spitting … Read more
I’ve driven Interstate 40, which follows historic Route 66, many times. In the Southwest particularly, there are so many abandoned places—old tourist stops, defunct gas stations, sometimes whole towns. I’ve never stopped to investigate these places, but my son has a great interest in doing exactly this. Yesterday, we visited a couple of these abandoned … Read more
In a year dominated by rancorous politics, divided nations, desperate refugees, and a climate morphing monstrously before our eyes, I’ve tried to maintain a sense of hope. I’m not talking about a Pollyanna view that all will be well, but rather a belief that, in the end, the human heart will always bend toward compassion, … Read more
A 10th grader in Salmon, Idaho, has honored my work in a way that rivals any honor I’ve ever received. Tasked by the instructor of her AP English class to write a children’s edit of a novel, Eliza Fisher chose Ordinary Grace. Her wonderful translation of the story for a child’s eye and understanding is … Read more
I know exactly where I was at 2:00 PM on November 22, 1963: climbing the stairway of Shawnee Middle School, moving between classes. Over the PA system came our principal’s somber voice informing us that President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas, Texas. He asked us to pray for the president. Before the … Read more