Post 29/2020 Monday 31 August A trip to JCPenney hardly registers as a day's noteworthy activity. Nevertheless, our recent visit to the going-out-of-business retailer yielded more than the items we bought. I asked the salesclerk how long she had worked there. "Nineteen years," she said. I thanked her for all the customers she has served …
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!
Bubble #2, and Squeak
Tuesday 4 August Post 28/2020 Bubble #1 has morphed into Bubble and Squeak #2. I'll try to use the name of that English dish to good effect as I muse on things past, present and future during this time of face coverings, handwashing, social distancing, and testing. In these occasional posts, I hope to hit …
Bubble #1: Where I write
Bubble #1 Sunday 19 July 2020. This is the first of occasional blogs I'll write during the idling phase of my weekly Cogitation. Welcome to Bubble. I've named it for the social distancing bubble that's incumbent on all during the devastating days of the coronavirus pandemic, with a special nod to those who use their …
Posting a little list
Saturday 27 June 2020 I know, I know, last week was to be my last blog for a while. Well, shucks, call it phaseal transition syndrome. An antidote to withdrawal pains. Slowly letting go. Almost there. Not quite ready to pause for the "Silent Eye" moment (the technique that improves human visual attention, applied to …
Consider the thistle
Cogitation 25 Friday 19 June 2020 / No. 255 since 30 November 2014 / last post 'till who knows when. Once upon a time I was the avowed decimator of thistles. My brothers and I were assigned to dig out thistles from the fence rows on our farm (and mustard and yellow rocket plants in …
Refreshment ahead
Cogitation 24 Friday 12 June 2020 Featured image: The Greencroft Goshen campus offers fine options for meditative strolls, taking physical distancing in stride. "Walking's old hat, blogging's not," I wrote in my first blog, 30 November 2014, adding, "Marty and I have been walking for exercise and pleasure for more than two decades. I'll be …
It’s my/our problem
Cogitation 23 Friday 5 June 2020 Violence doesn't have problems. Viruses don't have problems. Mother Nature doesn't have problems. It's my/our problem. It's about how human beings address problems. In matters of human relations, illness, natural disasters, we can either do the right thing--for me that's according to the dictates of Scripture, along with reasoned …
Zoom, zoom, zoom
Cogitation 22 Friday 29 May 2020 Zoom: A sharp upward movement, like an airplane taking off. Or a kite zipping high into the sky. Or a loud low hum or buzz. Or zeroing in on a subject with a camera, binoculars or microscope zoom lens. Or a catchy song for kindergarten children called, Zoom Zoom …
Reverence for creation
Cogitation 21 Friday 22 May 2020 This week I look to others for words of hope amidst the helpful and unhelpful responses to Covid-19. I glean words that calm and reassure me of God's voice within and beyond the global coronavirus storm. Such as this prayer from an unnamed writer: "Lord, for tomorrow and its …
Mask-to-mask
Cogitation 20 Friday 15 May 2020 Reasons to wear a mask in public during the coronavirus pandemic, include: to show solidarity with frontline workers, to protect others if you are infected but have not yet developed symptoms, to protect yourself to some degree, to honor those heroes who have died in the line of duty, …
It's About Now 