The Lens: I felt the need for some lighter fare this week. I know “Hauntings” doesn’t sound like lighter fare. But it really is. I was looking over some of my past writings. (Some time ago, I took up writing,…
It’s an Experience
The Lens: Do you like quiet? I prefer a degree of daytime quiet. However, unless I am trying to sleep, I find daytime silence unsettling. I need some kind of background noise. Are you a background noise person? If so,…
Believing the Unbelievable
The Lens: Pandemic Christmas. What did yours look like? Our pandemic Christmas looked drastically different than our usual Christmas. In a typical year, we would spend Christmas Eve with my side of the family, anywhere from 15 to 20+ people.…
Misunderstandings
The Lens: A short read today. I’m on a roll with my Christmas movies. Last night we watched our must-see Christmas movie: White Christmas. It was a long-time tradition in my family growing up, and has continued with my own…
Reflection
The Lens: My oldest son came over last night to watch a holiday movie with us. We had already watched “It’s a Wonderful Life,” so I told my son he could pick from one of our other favorites. Holding up…
What Do You Mean “Was?”
The Lens: I was watching the morning news recently and was struck by a network “Coming this Fall on TV” commercial. I tape the news each day and went back later for another look-see. Here are the stats from the…
Patience Is a Virtue
The Lens: I don’t think we can understate what a year this has been. We started with a pandemic that is still in full swing. We became embroiled in a seemingly never-ending fight against systemic racism in this country. In…
Just One Generation
The Lens: I recently read an article originally printed in “The Washington Post” (https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/07/27/slave-son-racism-george-floyd/) about Daniel Smith, the living son of a slave. It was a sobering read. He was born in 1932 when his father was 70 years old.…
Rites, Services, Ceremonies
The Lens: As if times weren’t trying enough, we had a death in the family. My sister-in-law’s long-time boyfriend passed away. While they weren’t married or living together, he had been a part of our family for well more than…
The Monkey On My Back
The Lens: A couple of months ago, my cousin sent out a group email. Her sister had a significant birthday coming up and she wanted to do something special. With a party out of the question, she was reaching out…