Dinner in the Field and other stories
I find you can discover your strengths at any age. For example, I find I’m a better writer than I am an editor. I have a full-length draft of a memoir that I’ve devoted countless hours to, and it’s finally finished. I’m anxious to move on to new material. But finishing the book is not the same as completing the project. Doing it right, I’m told, entails a less than...
Viendo El Mundo de Una Nueva Manera
Para Nuestros Amigos y Nuestras Amigas en El Salvador y mas Transmitir la forma y el sentir de la clínica I Care es difícil porque el proceso lo experimentan muchas personas. Por lo tanto; muchos lo viven de una manera diferente. No todos los que contribuyen hacen el viaje. Tenemos estudiantes voluntarios de las escuelas secundarias de Morris, Illinois y Paso Robles, California, que lavan y limpian con mucha dedicación...
Hello in There
I spent Monday, March 30th believing John Prine was dying from the virus, or had died and his family had not yet released the news. Catastrophic thinking, I know. There’s a lot of that going around. I got very emotional here in the shack. Sometimes my emotions surprise me. The first emotion was profound sorrow. Very soon it turned to anger. Here’s what I thought. “If this pandemic takes John...
Seeing the World in a New Way
Conveying the shape and feel of an I Care clinic is difficult because the process is experienced by lots of people. There are so many points of view. Not everyone who contributes makes the trip. We have student volunteers from Morris, Illinois and Paso Robles, California high schools that wash and clean random bulk glasses received from members and friends of I Care and the Lions Club, and then assess...
A Trip to the Sea
I’ve been unable to write a blog post lately. Making sense of life these days is difficult. Every time I think I know what I want to say, my assessment of what we are collectively experiencing changes and my assumptions get thrown out the window. So, I’ve decided to just write about things that come to mind. Maybe you can figure it out. Weeks before our departure date of February...
A Chance Encounter on the Way to Quesadillas
I see him sometimes on his bike, and knew he was big, but I didn’t know he’d grown taller than me until I stood next to him in the store. I still live in the town where I was a counselor and he has never left. Funny we run into each other so little. He immediately began talking, telling me a story of something that happened to him, like he...
Hot Toddy 2020
I was reminded of this old post by a reader today and updated it. Some posts, and recipes, are timeless. Last Monday my nose started to run. It became annoying. As the day went on, I started sneezing. I used more and more Kleenex, and my nose got red and raw. Could be allergies I thought. That night I didn’t sleep well, and Tuesday I woke with the start of...
Dave's Still Here
I haven’t put out a blog in a month. Not so. For a very long time, I’ve sat on a book of farm stories. Some of them were written a long time ago, when I was travelling. I digitized them, brought them together in one Microsoft folder, and eventually put them into a single file. Going out on a creative limb, I named the file Farm Stories, whole thing. I’ve...
Fooling Around
I woke up early December 10th to a dark twelve-degree morning. Before my thoughts turned to the present, I remembered how bright the moon was during the night and recalled, ever so briefly, the tail end of a vivid, colorful dream. Sadly, mundane thoughts of the new day chased my dream away and it is now lost forever. What was more important than my dream? My regret at not cutting...
Santa at the Lodi
I dropped into the Lodi Tap House in Utica on Saturday, the winter solstice, and grabbed a stool at the bar. It was crowded. Lodi’s used to be Duffy’s, a revered Irish bar and an institution among Illinois Valley drinkers and St. Paddy’s day revelers. I’d gone to Duffy’s for 45 years, back when the standard order at the bar was a shot of Kesslers and Miller High Life. When...
Entrepreneurs
On Black Friday I worked with a small business owner who was closed for the day. While we worked, I also interviewed her. She was gearing up for Small Business Saturday after being closed both Thanksgiving and the day after. She and her business partner wanted to give their employees those days off, plus they needed the day to prepare for increased internet sales. Their physical location in the West...