“They were not social thinkers, but their friends were. Their summer friends, in particular, harvested facts row on row from newspapers like mice on corncobs. The Maytrees were not always up -to-the-minute. Their city friends envied their peace.” — The Maytrees by Annie Dillard From this hour, freedom! “From this hour I ordain myself loos’d […]

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Renewing Your Prescriptions

Every time I go to my doctor for my annual or semi-annual exam, I am given a printout of my prescriptions. Although I am not fluent in the language of pharmaceuticals, I dutifully refresh my knowledge of what and why and when and how much. Recently I prescribed something similar to myself from myself regarding […]

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“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.” Aristotle 384-322 B.C. Should we be a little surprised that we can learn really important things from sources as diverse as Aristotle, Tiger Woods, and April-the-Giraffe? Hmmmm… Cynthia Johnson, a retired Unitarian Universalist minister who served UU congregations […]

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“I look at this life as a puzzle without all the pieces in the box.” — Jonathan Anthony Burkett Thirteen UUFDC Members and Friends in their 60s, 70s, and 80s recently gathered to discuss how our lives were shaped by the Women’s Liberation movement of the 1970s.  We talked and listened and pondered how our individual lives unfolded amidst a cultural shift […]

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Sunlight and Shadow

I came really close to naming the two recently-hatched bald eagles at the National Arboretum. Sunlight and Shadow. So perfect, I thought. But then, I probably should have noticed when the contest closed. I console myself with William Blake’s wisdom: [We were] made for joy and woe Then when this we rightly know Through the world we safely go. Joy […]

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