Featured image: It's the season for roadwork in parts where snow and ice seem far away. Cogitation 33 Saturday 18 August 2018 August flows on like a river, each day a tributary of the ever-flowing, changing, sometimes churning stream. People connections stand out in this coursing month. Such as coffee and a donut …
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!
Seeing history in the ‘labours and passions of flesh and blood’
Featured image: The cardinal, Official State Bird of Indiana. Cogitation 32 Friday 10 August 2018 Historians dig deep into political, economic, intellectual, or other past markers to shed light on what human beings did in creating the world we live in. For sure, big personalities or heroes from the past have much to teach …
Continue reading Seeing history in the ‘labours and passions of flesh and blood’
Goodbye July
Featured image: The Regulator clock keeps up with the time in the narthex and library at Cassel Mennonite Church. My grandparents, Solomon and Rachel, were for many years caretakers for the church and wound this clock each Sunday morning. Cogitation 31 Friday 3 August 2018 Saying "goodbye" in person often includes a hug. …
Stay calm and go to the fair
Featured image: Diamond is one of the rabbits Silas Stutzman entered at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair, The family had nine entries: six rabbits, a forestry poster and microwave fudge by Silas and a poster by his sister, Junia, of her pet rabbit. Silas came away with more than 20 ribbons. Cogitation 30 Saturday …
‘Nothing is lost on the breath of God’
Featured photo: Brian Bender's daughters, Rachel and Amy, stand in his place in the siblings birth order: Sandy, John, Willard, Rachel, Amy, Mark, Kaye. Cogitation 29 Saturday 21 July 2018 Family tributes to Brian Bender last weekend included a tractor parade to breakfast. We drove on field paths and roads less travelled …
A wistful week
Cogitation 28 Friday 13 July 2018 Sadness and grief attends the week; my brother, Brian, died on Monday afternoon. Brian fought valiantly in his battle with cancer. His spouse Vivian and their children and grandchildren, extended family, friends, church, and medical teams stood close by Brian in the fight. My sadness and grief are …
The ‘big bang’ week
Cogitation 27 Saturday 7 July 2018 Blitz, burst, boom, bang . . . for 30 minutes or more fireworks blanketed the sky in many communities, officially marking national birthdays: July 1 in Canada, July 4 in the US. The sky over Rice Field at Elkhart Central High School 11 years ago The …
Serious about clearing out stuff
Cogitation 26 Friday 29 June 2018 I've been sorting through stuff this week and refinished the deck, all the while keeping up regular rambles. It's serious sorting time, purging, pruning, giving the old heave-ho to accumulated things, It's spring cleaning with the other three seasons rolled in. Of course, such is an ongoing process, …
Marks of a likable, livable, laudable city
Cogitation 25 Saturday 23 June 2018 What makes a city likable, livable, laudable? Certainly, common factors include a sense of home, safety, opportunity, community pride, and heritage. The overall picture includes jobs, schools, health care, quality of life matters that include recreation, entertainment, food security, and social fabric that promotes diversity, choice, freedom, community, …
Godfather of travel advises: ‘Be patient’
Featured image: "God Bless America," a sculpture by Seward Johnson, anchored the 2017 placement of 57 life-size sculptures across Elkhart County. Held-over until this week, the out-sized 25-foot sculpture of father and daughter traveled to Johnson's Iowa boyhood hometown. Cogitation 24 Saturday 16 June 2018 Paul Theroux said his best travel advice is, …
It's About Now 