On October 9, 2004, I had the honor of officiating at Jak and Diane’s wedding. Nontraditional in almost every way, I absolutely loved this ceremony. It tops my list of favorite wedding experiences. Jak, a former co-worker who became a good friend, married his soulmate. Their wedding, held at their home in Clifton along the […]
HEART PONDERINGS: Contemplations on Living with Wisdom, Compassion, & Joy
From Critiquing to Dreaming in 2019
It seems as though critiquing has been in vogue since the 60s. Granted, there is a lot to critique in the world today. However, just how effective is this focus on the negative? Many of our leaders seem to lack an inspiring vision. I think it’s time to move from critiquing to dreaming. Terry Patten, […]
Ruth Powers: A Dazzling Dayton Dame*
I just have this thing about babies. ~Ruth Powers When Ruth graduated from nursing school, she worked in obstetrics at St. Elizabeth Hospital. She did that until the first of her five sons were born. Then she had babies of her own to care for. And still, that wasn’t enough for her. At a 10th […]
Giving Thanks
On May 23, 2009, a year after the death of my son, six months after the death of my mother, and five months after the death of my father, on the eve of the closing on my parent’s condo, I was diagnosed with lymphoma. Following eight rounds of chemo and seventeen radiation treatments, on December […]
Your Name in the Book of Life?
I left our second Living Room Conversation (LRC) on the topic of “Guns and Responsibility” in turmoil. I could not escape seeing my growth challenges. I’m fairly certain my alarm system was not turned off during our first nitty-gritty conversation about an issue. I had difficulty climbing the empathy wall. This is hard! I did […]
My Process of Living into a Frightening Future
You haven’t heard from me since October 3. I have been ill and am convinced stress about the divide in our country brought it on. The following is an essay I wrote for the Cincinnati Writer’s Group on the topic: “The Future.” They loved it. Hope you will, too. Since the September 27 testimony of […]
