Post 20/2021 Friday 14 May . . . Thirty-seven years ago, my sister Kaye rounded up memories of our paternal grandparents, Solomon and Rachel (Yutzi) Bender, to be shared at a reunion that summer on the theme, "Remembering." I was reunited with these treasures in rereading them this week. Rich. Telling. Timeless. For instance, Dad …
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!
Mating chorus to be lawnmower loud
Post 19/2021 Friday 7 May . . . Have no fear all ye who will soon hear the high decibel chorus of cicadas. After 17 years living underground, trillions of Brood X cicadas will emerge in 15 US states, said Seth Borenstein in an Associated Press story, May 6. Indiana rates among the states that …
Of trees, weeds, origami and blooms
Post 18/2021 Friday 30 April . . . Today, Goshen, Indiana, with the nation, celebrates Arbor Day. The city has adopted a goal of having 50,000 trees planted by 2045. About one-fourth of that number are to be planted on private property--residences, businesses, churches and so on. The goal is to roughly double the community's …
In step with spring
Post 17/2021 Thursday 22 April . . . I have to admit, the wall calendar above our computer desk just now got flipped to April. Days, weeks and months sail by at a steady pace, even as our lives are circumscribed--yes, we've heard it a thousand times--by the global pandemic. It is global. It is …
Lakeside daisies bade us welcome
Post 16/2021 Saturday 17 April . . . It may have been two decades since we were introduced to the rare lakeside daisy on a guided walk on Kelleys Island on the Ohio side of Lake Erie. Kelleys Island is a 20-minute crossing on the Shirley Irene ferry from Marblehead. We spent the past week …
Nature, be nice
Post15/2021 Friday 9 April . . . The "be nice" part of the title made me laugh. Ha, ha, ha. Yes, "be nice." Our late friend Mick Bevan would have responded with, "Hee, hee, hee!" What, even if kindly, tell nature to tame things down? Hee, hee, hee! Mick lived in St Ives, Cornwall, UK, …
Resurrection, amazement and terror
Post 14/2021 Easter Sunday 4 April . . . Easter lilies gracing homes or churches symbolize new life. They also propel us to seek the peace in the here and now. We've had opportunities to provide an Easter lily in memory of loved ones who have gone before, to the peace of their reward. But …
March marches on
Post 13/2021 Friday 26 March . . . A twinge of unease underlies my feelings of delight as I walk among the first signs of spring. It's a slight twinge, alongside my delight in bird song. First flowers. Buds. Balmy temperatures. The grand awakening of the out-of-doors. Freedom, again, to have company indoors. Friends Dean …
Beyond the bubble, connection and hallelujah!
Post 12/2021 Thursday 18 March . . . Carol Bly spoke her mind as a writer, teacher and ethicist. Her heartland was rural Minnesota, USA; her voice urgently timeless in promoting "national-scale virtues." In recent months I've finally read one of her books, Letters From the Country (Penguin Books, 1981). This collection, 31 essays published …
Continue reading Beyond the bubble, connection and hallelujah!
Cleaner water, thanks a million
Post 11/2021 Friday 12 March . . . I'm drawn to water. I've lived next to it. Vacationed near it. Gotten sick on board ship. Oh, the memory: In 1964, even on the calmest day crossing the Atlantic on the Castle Felice, I fed my breakfast to the fish. Returning home, after a volunteer year …
It's About Now 