surprises

Not a Bad Meal In the Lot

Dearest Rachel – It hardly needs to be said that the food on a cruise ship is expected to be, if not always gourmet (after all, the kids have to have their hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken tenders and pizza, and I don’t have any objection to those items now and again, either), at least topContinue reading “Not a Bad Meal In the Lot”

from Rachel: To Be Heard

Based on your life or someone else’s (including any historical figure), can you think of an example when survival was in itself a crowning achievement? “Earlier I mentioned Sokun, she and another friend (her name escapes me right now) escaped Cambodia with their families as small girls ([in the] mid-70s), lived for several years inContinue reading “from Rachel: To Be Heard”

The Sands of the Desert

Dearest Rachel – I seem to recall a phrase, used metaphorically in terms of the permanence of one’s love, that it would continue “until the sands of the desert grow cold.” My first exposure to the phrase – and its context – was a single-frame Peanuts cartoon in which Lucy is calling to an out-of-shotContinue reading “The Sands of the Desert”

Caught Unprepared

Dearest Rachel – So last night was the annual meeting of the volunteer leaders in preparation for this year’s Awana Sparks club. Lots of heartening news; including the fact that we have enough volunteers for each team to have four or five leaders, while at the same time, we have enough kids already registered suchContinue reading “Caught Unprepared”

Out On the Open Ocean?

Dearest Rachel – It’s not quite seven in the morning, and I’m awake early again. It’s not exactly a complaint, but you think it wouldn’t be necessary, as there is nothing much to see when you’re out in the open ocean. Except, apparently, we aren’t. I was actually woken up, in fact, by a textContinue reading “Out On the Open Ocean?”

Last Supper Here

Dearest Rachel – Just to set the record straight, I put the word ‘Here’ in the title because well, it is the last time I’m going to bother with room service, especially considering I’ve gone through basically anything on the menu that’s interesting (okay, I admit to debating about two entrees tonight, but we’ll getContinue reading “Last Supper Here”

On Today’s Menu

Dearest Rachel – Since for now, the only thing that changes around here from day today is the food that I’m eating, I might as well keep you up-to-date. So, consider this to be part two of the series; part one, if you skipped over it (it was pretty long – sorry about that, that’sContinue reading “On Today’s Menu”

No One Left to Thank

Dearest Rachel – I was going to start out by claiming it has been an ordinary day today, but that isn’t true. It was unusual, but not the sort of unusual that makes a particularly compelling letter. Suffice to say, my time was split between the ‘office’ and church, where I had a meeting aboutContinue reading “No One Left to Thank”

Dearest Rachel – I’ll tell you, this year thus far has been absolutely full of surprises. Which means that it’s probably a good thing you’re not around to deal with them, as you hated surprises. This was particularly evident when it came to birthdays and holidays – anything having to do with gift-giving. The longContinue reading “Surprises”