Many people frantically run through the day, although students on summer break might be exempt from the hurry-hurry, “got-no-time.” While summer may afford a bit more leisure, leisure is still a commodity hard to come by. Who has time for leisure? David Steindl-Rast has said that leisure is not the

Several evenings recently the sunsets have been fantastic—but you have to catch them! That’s the fun part. Just walking or driving along, and suddenly you stop breathing. Everything stops—even breath—for a few seconds of pure awe and joy and wonder and incredibility and thankfulness. For those few seconds we are

Everything is too quiet—no breeze, no chirping of birds, no movement. The scene could be a painting on a canvas. But something—with no evidence to prove it–is stirring, brewing, intensifying. What will come? A much-needed rain? Hail? Damaging winds? The storm of the century as happened with West Virginia’s flooding?

Some words or phrases are just plain fun to say. They delight the mouth and please the ear. At times the consonants and vowels shape the facial muscles into a friendly mien. For a pleasant countenance, try these words: delightful, supreme, ebony, alleluia. Here are some fun words to say

Although my eyes are nondescript, my driver’s license claims they’re “blue.” Actually the color could be a blob of green, brown, and blue paint. The license is just a guess. Other parts of me are quite descriptive. My fingers are short and stolid—nothing to look at but great for playing

I had the privilege of seeing several monuments in D.C. at night. One of the most impressive was that of Martin Luther King, Jr. Our eyes locked, and I was reminded of Michelangelo’s imperative to his statue of David—“Speak!” The Stone of Hope, as the monument is called, represents the

Leaders who could have continued inspiring our country to greatness lie buried, along with their potential for inspiration in the hearts and minds of their fellow Americans. In this time of division within parties, at this time when political rhetoric has deteriorated to mudslinging, we have forgotten John F. Kennedy’s

My wish is that the next President of the United States would require every Congressperson and every member of his or her cabinet to spend a week touring our nation’s capital. They would be required to read every quotation at the memorials and monuments to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and

Walking up the stairs to the Lincoln Memorial, I felt that I was approaching moral greatness in a man who claimed “I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my best each and every day.” That daily best included not punishing the South after the Civil War.

[Sister Valerie recently returned from a five-day trip to Washington, D.C. Over the next few days you will read of her impressions.] I recently had perfect weather in D.C., something which, I understand, is rather unusual. The cherry blossoms bunched in brown piles along the curbs, but tulips and flowering