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Thursday's Essay Preview

The first paragraph of Thursday's essay, "An Amazing Coincidence --- Sister Camille's Experience, " reads as follows:

On Friday, February 11, 2011, I received a message on my answering machine.  The name was garbled; however, the phone number for contacting the party was clear, and I copied it down.  In going to my computer, my son had forwarded a message to me from our andthensomeworks.com web site which duplicated the answering-machine message.  The message was as follows:
   
    “Your father-in-law is a long time friend and mentor of mine.  Something has come to my attention that I would like to discuss with you.  I will be out much of today; however, I’d appreciate a phone number where I might contact you.”


Thursday's Essay Excerpt - from the last paragraph of the essay

We found an answer to this amazing coincidence that was simple and to the point: When a book is “donated” to the Maumee Public Library (part of the Lucas County Public Library system) it is given to .Friends of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library. Friends of the Library (FOTL) is a nonprofit organization that encourages, promotes, and supports the ongoing operation of the Library, and “donated” books are sold (often at Amazon.com) to support FOTL operations.  Sister Camille purchased the book at Amazon.com, and it was supplied by FOTL.



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Thursday's Essay Preview

The first paragraph of Thursday's essay, "Coping Skills: How to Handle Life's Challenges, " reads as follows:

In a book by Ruth David Konigsberg, The Truth About Grief (Simon & Schuster, 2011) one of the ways Konigsberg focuses upon when it comes to successfully coping with grief, is having effective coping skills; however, the question quickly comes to mind, “What does that mean?” or “Do I have effective coping skills?” or “How can I develop the proper skills so I am prepared to face difficult (stressful, hurtful, or pressure-related) situations?” or  “How can I handle life’s challenges in the most effective way?”


Thursday's Essay Excerpt - from the last paragraph of the essay

Answers to the questions raised in the first paragraph about developing coping skills such as, “What does that mean?” or “Do I have effective coping skills?” or “How can I develop the proper skills so I am prepared to face difficult (stressful, hurtful, or pressure-related) situations?”  “How can I handle life’s challenges in the most effective way?” should be clear now.  Much of what you can do must take place early — planning ahead.  The more skills you have in place and the more you have used before (so they are habitual or automatic), the easier it will be to handle life’s challenges.



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Thursday's Essay Preview

The first paragraph of Thursday's essay, "When I die, " reads as follows:

I don’t think about death.  It has really never been on my mind.  However, I have had deaths thrust upon me in a variety of ways.  I had to identify my father’s body when he died with his boots on teaching a seminar at the University of Michigan while I was a student there.  My mother died in a nursing home in California.  My mother-in-law died in a Hospice facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  One of our close friends died of lung cancer at 45 years old, and he never smoked.  The main benefactor of the church I attend died, and I went to his funeral.  And, with a father-in-law who is 98 years old, death is likely to be thrust upon me once again.
   

Thursday's Essay Excerpt - from the last paragraph of the essay

My life is what it is, and that’s it.  I was thinking as I wrote this essay, what would I want written on my gravestone?  Then I thought, no, there will be no tombstone.  Remember: cheap!  On the post-it-note attached to the urn that holds my ashes — and there doesn’t even need to be an urn, for heaven’s sake! — it can say in small print: “He left this a better place.”  Without an urn, put the note on the lower left (not on the right!) of the bathroom mirror, or write it with your finger in the thin layer of dust on the mantle!



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Thursday's Essay Preview

The first paragraph of Thursday's essay, "Dealing with Death, " reads as follows:

This is an uncomfortable topic simply because it is seldom discussed, and, too, because it affects people in different ways at different times during their lives.  You may think you deal with it the same way each time it affects your life, but that is unlikely to be true.  Every response is different depending on their relationship to you.  There are so many variables involved: how close the person was to you, your own health, happiness, and security, and how many other tragedies or traumas you are having to deal with at the time.  That isn’t the end either.  How did the person die?  What are the circumstances surrounding the event?  Where is the funeral (and viewing) to be held?  Who will be (should be?) invited?  And many more questions, too.


Thursday's Essay Excerpt - from the last paragraph of the essay

I once heard an apt quotation on the television show Roseanne : “If you spend all your time worrying about dying, living isn't going to be much fun.”  Norman Cousins had a slightly different twist on a similar thought: “Death is not the greatest loss in life.  The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”  Do I think about death?  Seldom.  Do I want to die?  No.  I am indebted to the deep thinking, popular American philosopher, Doris Day (he says with tongue firmly planted in cheek!), who said, “The really frightening thing about middle age is the knowledge that you'll grow out of it.”  But most of all, I love the quotation attributed to R. Geis, “I wouldn't mind dying,” he says, “it's the business of having to stay dead that scares the shit out of me.”






And Then Some News

And Then Some News

Thursday's Essay Preview

The first paragraph of Thursday's essay, "It's Great Being an American, " reads as follows:

I have traveled around the world.  I have lived in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), visited India, Kashmir, Nepal, the Phillippines, Japan and traveled throughout Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Carribbean.  One question that I have received is, “Having seen the world, where would you most like to live?”  The answer is Pavlovian (it requires no thought whatsoever): in the United States (US). 

Thursday's Essay Excerpt - from the last paragraph of the essay

It was Evan Thomas who sparked this essay, and I am indebted to him for electrifying my senses.  Too often, I’m afraid, we take all that we have available to us for granted.  If you, as a reader of this essay, has never traveled abroad and, thus, have no comparison regarding what we have available to us, you may not completely understand my passion.  On the other hand, you may not want to travel outside the US at all simply because you like what we have here! — you already have passion! We have a great country, and it’s great to be an American!   


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