Post 37/2023. There's no stopping the ebb and flow of time. That's a truism I utter to buy a moment of reflection. This morning: weather's achangin'. Foggy, flannel shirt/jacket time. To be shed this afternoon, after a walk to Cabin Coffee and library. That's the plan. Later The plan worked. I stuffed my coat into …
Author: John Bender
Hi, my name is John Bender, retired and loving it. I'm writing to help interested people cross bridges to and from the past. Stories from the past can shed light on life in the present and illuminate the future. We've got a lot of living to do. Let's do it!
A very short blog
Post 36/2023. A full week. Got jobs done. Walked to Cabin Coffee for breakfast and then on to Goshen Library. Gave the sermon this morning in Greencroft Healthcare and Evergreen Assisted Living, based on Exodus 16:2-25, title, Manna According to Doris. As I said, a full week. This and that. Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale yesterday …
Sweet and bittersweet
Post 35/2023. The shows were compelling. The five days allowed for variety. Time with family featured food, a tour through a new house under construction and a farewell tribute to the old house where my siblings and I grew up. It's Sunday evening, home from Stratford, Ontario. Marty and I have been doing an annual …
Sunday snippets on Monday
Post 24/2023. Last week went happily zooming by. Various tasks and preparations kept me from writing the weekly blog--until today. I hope to keep it short and snappy. We were able to walk to church yesterday (just under 30 minutes). Following the worship service, Rebecca Stolzfus, Goshen College president, spoke to three adult Sunday school …
Pottering in a satisfying way
Post 33/2023. I've been doing little jobs around the house. Carted off three boxes of books to Fables Books in downtown Goshen. Reshelving the keepers. Organizing storage in the garage. The latter is what I dilly dallied on this afternoon. Pottering, puttering, playing are a few words to describe the process, but none are quite …
Hard news, soft news, no news
Post 32/2023. Many stories in public and social media are predictable, repetitive, breathless, reporting the way it is. That's fine. We need news, important, accurate, comprehensive news. Hard news. Soft media (social media) is less my cup of tea. What I do in this blog, I trust, is no news, as in no news is …
Keep calm / pray / share
Post 31/2023. KEEP CALM YOU'RE IN A LIBRARY. I use caps sparingly. Here the all-caps phrase communicates as both a whisper and a shout. I found it at Awesome Librarians, a UK-based website. Other quotes: "Reading is an adventure that never ends." And "I Am a Book Dragon Not a Worm." This gathering among Amish …
Food for thought
Post 30/2023. If I were given to complaining, whining and blaming I'd have had a field day one day this week. We went to South Haven, Michigan to get peaches, blueberries and other produce at farmers' markets. We stopped for breakfast in Niles, then took mostly country roads to enjoy slow byways travel. Z If …
Saturday AM musings
Post 29/2023. I got up early to finish this week's blog before we leave for a day out. I was at the computer for more than an hour when Marty called my attention to a beautiful sky created by the rising sun. I took time out for breakfast and then cooked and cut the kernels …
July’s dubious honor
Post 28/2023 . . . As July temperatures hit the hottest month on record worldwide, what augers for August? That's a subject best left to meteorologists who in their branch of atmospheric science have advanced technology and sophisticated tools at their disposal. Nevertheless, one needs to pay frequent attention to weather forecasting, whether you're a …
It's About Now 