Following an injury in an automobile accident in 1989, most of my intestines were removed, and I am no longer able to absorb nutrients and fluids.  Since that time, I’ve been dependent on total parenteral nutrition, or TPN, which means I receive all required fluids and nutrients intravenously.     In 1993 I received a scholarship to attend Pendle Hill, a Quaker retreat and study center in Philadelphia.  I lived in Arizona at the time and... [more]

Last year was a very dark time in my life due to many moments of sadness and grief. One of the most difficult was the death of my nephew who was 22 years old.   The loss affected each of my family members differently. I personally was ill much more frequently than usual. Another family member also developed some serious health problems that required a hospitalization. Unfortunately, this happened during a visit to a friend... [more]

When our little party arrived in Calais, it was all I could do to keep from laughing.  The group of Brits traveling with me had often sneered at tourists in London for their exuberant giddiness but the minute they were on foreign soil, they transformed into a bunch of hooligans no different than those they so despised in their own city.  We were on our way to spend Easter in Taizé, an international destination we... [more]

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In June of 1948 I had finished two years at UCLA and had no clear direction as to what I wanted to do, so I dropped out of school and worked for my father. We built greenhouses, and it seemed like we were always on the brink of bankruptcy.   The following summer I wanted to do something different, so I planned to visit my grandparents in Indiana. Working for my father, I rarely got paid... [more]

In the Old City of Jerusalem, the streets are too narrow for cars.  The streets stay narrow so they can squeeze through stone archways.  Neighbors who live across the street from each other can look up and see the awnings above their doorways almost touch.  Sometimes, a narrow street will become a staircase.  The stone steps have probably forgotten most of what they once knew about right angles.   On a rainy day in November,... [more]

“After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him.’” Matthew 2:13, CEB. [more]

I am grateful for my guardian angels.  These are not cherubic babes with wings and harps on clouds, but scrappy, fierce protectors alert of my blind spots and ‘heaven-may-care’ enthusiasm for adventure.  My partner jokes that God drew us to one another on the urgings of our respective guardian teams—mine calling in for a leave of absence, his antsy for a bit more spice and risk in life.   My awareness of these protective agents... [more]

Diane and I spent our honeymoon roaming the western U.S. and Canada, living out of the back of our tiny Honda Civic.  Leaving the Honda in Chicago, our new home, we flew to Pittsburgh, site of our marriage earlier that summer, to gather our remaining clothes, wedding gifts, and furniture.  We loaded these into a rented U-Haul, hitched it to my mother-in-law’s 1972 Cutlass and, accompanied by Diane’s brother Richard, headed west on the turnpike... [more]