Hope, it seems, can be very hard to find. On Monday, I found myself at the gym, trying to do anything that would distract me from the painstakingly slow clock ticking down on the treadmill. So I looked up at the handful of TV screens lining the front…
Spring has sprung here in the Quad Cities. Buds and flowers burst from trees that were bare just days ago. The once brown grass is lush and green. Tulips and daffodils and lilacs bring the kind of color that help us forget our gray February. It’s the…
There is something about this time of year that makes everything seem possible. Last August the garden beds in our backyard were overrun with weeds and our hostas were dried out and weary looking. But this past weekend as we raked away the leaves, I…
There was a short lived game show that was on television from 2008-2009 called “Hole in the Wall.” Inspired by a Japanese television show, competitors were challenged to fit through a “hole in the wall.” A human form in various kinds of poses would b…
At some point between the age of 4 and 14, we seem to lose a fair amount of our curiosity. If you want proof—just spend a few minutes in conversation with a preschooler. Some estimate that the average child asks somewhere between 100 to as many as 35…
Echoing all over the world this week are the words “je suis Charlie,” which in English is “I am Charlie.” These three words have been found on placards at marches, on Twitter feeds and on buttons worn on lapels of torn wool coats and expensive velvet…
Last week I sat on an Amtrak train heading southwest towards a New Year’s visit with my family. Not long after I took my seat by the window, the winter sun began to set. And by late afternoon my view turned from various shades of brown, frozen fields…