Learning abut Grace and Gratitude

This week, I have been posting several articles about former president Jimmy Carter’s announcement of his cancer, that the cancer has already spread to his brain, and reaction of the public to those announcements. Clearly, prognosis is not good – but even in this situation, President Carter seems able to teach us a great deal about grace and living with gratitude.

Jimmy Carter (nonpolitical) Campaign Signs

This week, I am posting several articles about former president Jimmy Carter, his cancer announcement, and the reaction of the public to that situation.  Today’s article is about a beautiful step taken by several people down in Georgia – printing and posting yard signs similar to the political yard signs used by everyone running for office, from running for city council to running for president.  The signs simply read “Jimmy Carter for Cancer Survivor.”

Even in Cancer Diagnosis, Jimmy Carter Shows Leadership

I’ll say the obvious right up front:  I have been very impressed with Jimmy Carter as a former president.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that he is probably the most effective former president that the US has ever had.  Through his work with the Carter Center to fight disease and to promote democracy, he has accomplished much for the world rather than simply sitting on boards of directors and becoming wealthy.

Joy of Family

I had a great time up in Virginia – stops in Richmond, Madison (about 30 miles north of Charlottesville), Lexington, Charlottesville, and Richmond again – all in two days!

It was wonderful to see my Mom, her brother, her other brother’s widow, and her sister’s widower. They are a fantastic group, and unfortunately won’t be around for too much longer. I’m very fortunate to have gotten to spend time with them all – and with my own sister and brother, too.

It got me thinking about how that group of siblings and sibling-spouses are each fantastic people, and yet how different they are from one another.  I have been so fortunate to have known then all, and learned from them all, in my life.  And I do so miss the two siblings who are now gone.

Then I realized that the same can be said for my own siblings – I love them all, but we are very different from one another.  I love that my daughters have the opportunity to learn from, love, and be loved by such a diverse group as my siblings and my wife’s siblings.

Aren’t families wonderful?

Mockingbird Sequel to be Published July 14

I have long considered To Kill a Mockingbird to be the greatest American novel ever published.  Thus, today’s story in the New York Times is very dear to me.

Measuring the Seasons

We all have our own way of tracking time as it passes.  For example, I have never really thought of January 1 as the beginning of a new year.  The beginning of a new year should be a time of rebirth – when all things are possible.  So, I consider the beginning of each year as Opening Day of baseball season – which was much easier to do back before MLB starting having “regular season” games played in Asia or in Europe during the final week of Spring Training.

What Goes Around

When my daughters were four and two years old, I started reading The Hobbit with them each night.  At first, I would read them just a paragraph each evening before they went to bed.  Later, their attention spans (and appetites for the story) grew and I’d read a chapter or more.  By the time we reached the end of the book, my older daughter and I were trading reading each page and the younger daughter was taking turns reading bits, too.  I treasured those nights then, and I treasure the memory now.

Happy Holidays

My wife and I are members of a book club that calls itself the Monobrow Book Club (in contrast with a highbrow book club).  Let’s face it – our book club is an excuse to get together every couple of months for a nice meal with good friends.  Tonight was a book club night and, of course, the theme of the evening was the holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

I think it is a wonderful thing that our society has one day in the year set aside to remind us all to be thankful for all the good things that we have in our lives.  It would be even better for us to remember to be thankful every day, but at least we do get this one day of mass thanks.

Political Jujitsu

Caution – this post contains political analysis.  If that will cause you distress, you should probably skip this post!

Yesterday was the 2014 mid-term elections, in which the Republican party increased its majority in the House of Representatives, took control of the Senate, increased its hold on Governorships, and increased it hold on state legislatures.  All this, just two years after Barak Obama was re-elected with the highest vote of any re-elected president in history and everyone was talking about how the trends in the American electoral landscape had the Republican party on the road to oblivion.  How did this happen?  I believe that it was through an incredible piece of political jujitsu.