Close-Up #3 Saturday 19 August 2017 Of the central role of relationships in our lives, Joan Chittister wrote, "At its core, life is not about things, it is about relationships." That takes me back to a repeated comment from my first boss, Boyd Nelson: "Communication is a function of relationships." Relationships, rah! rah! for …
Note: I thought this posted on 12 August. Just checked. Not posted then. My thought is not to ask why not? but to say, right now. Close-Up #2 Saturday 12 August 2017 Last Sunday (6 August) Prairie Street Mennonite Church celebrated the legacy of John and Salome Funk, founders of the congregation in 1871. …
Close-Up #1 Saturday 5 August 2017 Goodbye Meander. Hello Close-up. There's nothing earthshakingly important about the change of name for my blog series. It's just that 12 posts seemed long enough for the former. The overall title remains the same: "It's About Now. Past, Present, Future, Live It Now." In the Close-Up series, I'll …
MEANDER #12 Saturday 29 July 2017 The nine-day Elkhart County 4-H Fair is big stuff. Featured image: The Elkhart County 4-H Fair has lots to crow about. Tag along! At the fair We went on Tuesday to see the rabbits, poultry, horses, have a bite, and, with a herd of other human beings, meander about. For …
Continue reading A meander at the Elkhart County, Indiana, 4-H Fair
Featured image: Put the kettle on and color me summer. MEANDER #11 Saturday 22 July 2017 Indiana celebrated its 200th birthday last year. Its first capital was Corydon, in the south central part of the state. Visitors come to Corydon to see the state's first Capitol and State Office Building and related points of historic import.. We came …
MEANDER #10 Friday 14 July 2017 On July 1, Canadians celebrated 150 years of nationhood. Eight days later, my extended family, as it has traditionally done, celebrated July birthdays. The birthday party took place on the farm where I and my five siblings grew up. We passed on shooting off fireworks for the birthdays, even not lighting candles. Instead, …
MEANDER #9 Saturday 8 July 2017 Some say a picture is worth a thousand words. Given that sentiment, this week I'm posting 10,000 words worth of pictures, plus featured and bonus images. Don't get me wrong. For me, words carry as much currency as do images, especially words that show more than tell. Words that can be exhaustive, …
Featured image: Wild roses at Spicer Lake Nature Reserve. MEANDER #8 Saturday 1 July 2017 Half a year behind, half a year ahead. Actually, my thoughts go back more than two decades to the time when our long-lived cat, Miss Kitty, first came to live with us, the happy and occasionally head-scratchingly mystifying times we had, and the day she left …
MEANDER #7 Saturday 24 June 2017 Four days does not a summer make, yet here it is. Here's a quote from James Thomson, Scottish poet and playwright (1700-1748): From bright'ning fields of ether fair disclosed, Child of the Sun, refulgent Summer comes. --The Seasons Ya, I had to look up "fields of ether" and "refulgent." The latter means radiant, …
Featured image: Sycamore trees in the heart of Elkhart's Island Park. MEANDER #6 Friday 16 June 2017 My dad, Lloyd Bender, would be approaching his 105th birthday. He died in 1998 at age 85. Thanks to enterprising niece, Amy Harder, our family has a wonderful record of Dad's life. Amy put together a Creative Memories publication that includes …
It's About Now 