Post 27/2024 Goshen Indiana. For some it's a vacation. For others it's a holiday. Same thing. The English publication, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage by H.W. Fowler (Oxford University Press, 1983), says, "vacation is in America the ordinary word for what we call a holiday. In Britain it is not so used except (often …
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 middling cantaloupe
Post 26/2024 Goshen Indiana. Bought it. Cut it. Eating it. The cantaloupe is middling in ripeness, taste, and satisfaction. The grapes and cherries we had for lunch, too, were less than stellar. Kind of what one expects when the local harvest awaits its season. I'm not complaining, just making an observation. I'm enjoying this iteration …
‘Just the ticket’ in a past police exchange
Post 25/2024 Goshen Indiana. In sorting files this week I found correspondence concerning a traffic incident of 24 years ago. It happened on May 28, 2000 in south western Ontario, Canada. On August 18, 2000, still smoldering some about the incident, I sent a letter to Chief A (I'm using single capital letters for the …
Continue reading ‘Just the ticket’ in a past police exchange
Minding the heat
Post 24/2024 Goshen Indiana. Early mornings last week were a gift. Cool. Fresh. A walkable start in waking up to days of long light. The troubling part is the forecast of sustained higher temperatures this week. When is heat too hot to handle? Mind you, we'll be minding the thermometer and limiting our time out …
Scenes of the week, with some T-shirt trivia
Post 23/2024 Goshen IN. A few words will suffice for today's post. The too many words swirling around in news await comment at another time. The photos I've selected are scenes from home, from walks this week in Goshen, from a drive to next-door LaGrange County, from the last night of Pat Sajak hosting Wheel …
Continue reading Scenes of the week, with some T-shirt trivia
June, let it bloom
Post 22/2024 Goshen IN. It has been a quiet week after the noisy last leg home from Canada (see Post 21). We had a nice few days with Gerald and Mary and Richard and Sharon at Oliver Lake. Richard and I pressure washed the deck. That task, come to think of it, was pretty noisy, …
Stratford on and off stage
Post 21/2024 Stratford, Ontario. We stepped into a "A World Elsewhere" at the Stratford Festival of Canada this week past. Out of 12 productions we chose three: two musicals, Something Rotten! and La Cage aux Folles, and the play Hedda Gabler by Ibsen. Excellent entertainment all. Hedda Gabler was especially thought-provoking. This is part of …
Quieting time of day
Post 20/2024 Goshen, Indiana. A stillness flowed through the National Express coach two weeks ago as we plied on toward London (an eventual 12-hour journey occasioned by traffic delays). The lowering sun highlighted everything as though in slow motion. It's as though the hub bub of the day had given way to the softening hours …
Journey home
Post 19/2024 Goshen Indiana USA. Travel can be worrisome, wearying, but worth it all. For the latter sentiment I quote Shakespeare in Antony and Cleopatra: "O sir! you had then left unseen a wonderful piece of work which not to have been blessed withal would have discredited your travel." In other words, don't sell the …
No mow May
Post 18/2024 Carbis Bay Cornwall UK. Greening. Blossoming. Sprouting. The natural world is bursting its bounds in spring. The scent of new-mown grass meets us on our walks. Some advocates, though, suggest that in May one should pause mowing. Give bees and butterflies and others a change to flourish. Give place to pollinators and nesting …
It's About Now 