Quinoa
It must have been more than a dozen years ago that I walked into the Iron Hill in Newark and discovered on the menu something I didn’t remember seeing before: “Quinoa Salad”. I asked the server, “What’s Quinoa?” She explained that it was an ancient grain of some kind. I thought, “Why not? Sounds healthy,” and was surprised when she brought me a plate with lettuce and a nicely sculpted pyramid of small reddish “stuff” that resembled the barley that Dad once raised on his f
The Playground
Do you remember the playground as a child? For many of us it consisted of very high slides made of chipping (lead) paint at great heights that seemed like they were a hundred feet (though probably not even seven feet at the most) in the air. The high polished metal looked so cool but you knew if you had shorts on it would burn like heck from the midday sun as you slid down. Or those things that spun around made of that same wonderful paint as the slide’s ladder … that sometim
God's Presence
I was sad. I was looking for signs of optimism as four of our close friends continue to deal with very significant health issues. And then, just last week, I learned that after two mastectomies over the last 31 years, one of the four now has been diagnosed with a fourth occurrence of breast cancer. My emotional reaction upon learning her news was all over the place from “How is this fair?” to “What can I do to be supportive?” I felt the need to respond. Do I yell at God? Do I
Patience
Just earlier this week someone told me that “patience is a virtue.” I think they were looking for my affirmation of the sentiment because they assumed it is a biblical notion. It, however, is not. It falls into that category of sayings that people think are biblical- but are indeed not. Much like the old saying “God helps those who help themselves.” That is not something we should thank a prophet or Jesus for - we should be thanking Benjamin Franklin for that little piece of
