Not What I Intended

Dearest Rachel – You just never know the sort of things that will stick with you; the smallest throwaway line heard in childhood may nestle in the back of your mind and serve as a guide from time to time whether you want it to or not. I don’t know how your parents kept youContinue reading “Not What I Intended”

O Tempora! O Morales!

Dearest Rachel – While I might have considered Macomb to have been a tiny little backwater town even before I met you, it had plenty of advantages for you that wouldn’t have existed in your average backwater little town. What with the university being the main ‘industry’ of the town, there were cultural opportunities availedContinue reading “O Tempora! O Morales!”

from Rachel: The Library in Your Mind

Pour yourself a cup of coffee (ha!) and turn to Psalm 103. What did the psalmist say to his soul in verse 2? “Bless the Lord“Forget none of His benefits” What do you think makes the difference between the memories becoming friends or foes? “Which ones we dwell on, what effect they have on us,Continue reading “from Rachel: The Library in Your Mind”

A Second Adolescence

Dearest Rachel – It’s been long said that senility and dementia result in something that is referred to as a ‘second childhood’. You no longer know the things you used to know, so you’re about as ignorant and helpless as you were as a little child. You remember how this was, especially with your mom’sContinue reading “A Second Adolescence”

from Rachel: I Just Want Everyone to Love Me

Anyone else want to join me here? “Yep, I have belonged to the ‘just love me’ club too.” Looks like you agreed with the author that you are conflict-avoidant, risk-averse, and easily pushed (although you preferred the term ‘manipulated,’ for all the difference it made). You did not consider yourself easily-bullied, work-yourself-into-oblivion, or a bigContinue reading “from Rachel: I Just Want Everyone to Love Me”

A Tourist in Toyland

Dearest Rachel – Since I’ve either a.) been out of the country, or b.) shopping from home (or c.) both a. and b., thanks to the fact that I can shop online from anywhere, including a hotel in Switzerland), I haven’t been hearing a lot of Christmas music this year. It’s a bit of aContinue reading “A Tourist in Toyland”

The Sands of Ho-Na-Lee

Dearest Rachel – There are some days, darling, when I admit that there isn’t much to write to you about. Nothing much is happening, I don’t find myself inspired, and I find myself forcing myself – rather against Jan’s advice – to send you something simply for the sake of sending you something. This isn’tContinue reading “The Sands of Ho-Na-Lee”