Daily writing prompt

List the people you admire and look to for advice…

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My wife, my siblings and most of their spouses, our children and their spouses, our neighbor next door, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stephen Colbert, Albert Einstein, Paula Poundstone, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Paul McCartney and all the Beatles– and George Martin; Alanis Morissette, Jon Stewart, Desi Lydic, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Pete Buttigieg, Barack Obama, Winston Churchill, Alexei Navalny, Jon Leavitt, PoliticsGirl, JoJofromJerz, Pope Leo, Rachel Maddow, Brian Tyler Cohen, Leonardo DaVinci, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Jim Lovell, Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride, Gene Kranz, Harper Lee, Jonas Salk, most any ER doctor, RNs who take their job seriously, our GP, a good mechanic, a good carpenter or plumber or electrician, and a couple of local farmers who work as hard as anyone I’ve ever known and are the personification of what people must mean when they use the phrase “salt of the earth.”

I’m sure I’ll think of others after submitting this.

Daily writing prompt

Do you vote in political elections?

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More often than ever, even the local ones. By mail, like our dear President.

Daily writing prompt

What gives you direction in life?

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A morning routine, our marriage, home improvements, involvement in the lives of our children and grandchildren.

Vocationally, there is nothing of which to be mindful anymore. Now I have to be more self-motivated, have a to-do list. When I was a pastor, there was always something to be mindful of, something to work on, another visit to make. But in retirement, the onus falls on me to generate movement and activity and any sense of direction.

I guess I’m not nearly as concerned with a sense of direction now, though a sense of purpose and meaning still looms large.

Daily writing prompt

Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?

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I must, but it’s not coming to me yet…

Or maybe I don’t. But I do occasionally come across quotes that resonate, that get my attention, make me think, make me laugh, inspire me. Albert Einstein quotes leave a mark. The MLK quote about the moral arc of the universe bending toward justice has stuck with me.

I listed a few last year. I’ll add a few more this time around:

“Dead people receive more flowers than the living ones because regret is stronger than gratitude.”– Anne Frank

“If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”– Mother Teresa

“Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward.”– Oscar Wilde

“A lie doesn’t become truth, wrong doesn’t become right, and evil doesn’t become good, just because it’s accepted by a majority.”– Rick Warren

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”– Leonardo Da Vinci

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”– Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Daily writing prompt

What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite?

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I guess it would still be Christmas. Apart from the rampant commercialism that begins in September or maybe before, I still appreciate the music and a few of the holiday movies, the get-togethers, and the overall atmosphere.

It lost its childhood magic a long time ago, but some of the mystery remains. Those formative early years cast a long shadow, and I still try to get my head around a virgin birth and a Savior come to earth.

Daily writing prompt

Have you ever been camping?

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Yes, many times. We started with my parents and grandparents, heading to places in New Hampshire, Vermont, Cape Cod, the Berkshires. It was pretty rustic, as I recall– a big old canvas tent, Coleman stove. Nothing fancy.

We did quite a bit of camping when I was in Boy Scouts, and I got to go to Philmont Scout Ranch, in Cimmaron, New Mexico, in 1968. On occasion, we’d head to the White Mountains and stay at different camp sites, which usually included a climb of one mountain or another.

And we did a bit of camping with our own kids, most often at places in New York state–Watkins Glen State Park became our favorite. And there was one multiple-night stay at a KOA in Canada, near Niagara Falls. No wild treks, but enough to create a few memories.

Daily writing prompt

When do you feel most productive?

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Early in the day, after breakfast, and after I’ve spent time applying myself to some task. It feels good to move, and to contribute and be of help.

The longer into a day I go, the more tired I get, especially if I’m working with my son on a landscaping job. I find myself marveling over the fact that he does what he does for a living, day after day.

Daily writing prompt

What are your favorite emojis?

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Variations on the happy face, a heart, a coffee cup, and thumbs up. Sometimes I’ll list a whole mess of different ones just because, in an attempt to be intentionally over-the-top, I guess. I’ve never used the poop emoji, but I can imagine certain instances where it might capture how somebody is feeling.

Daily writing prompt

What topics do you like to discuss?

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Politically speaking, I enjoy venting with like-minded people. When it comes to what folks think of Donald Trump, etc., I don’t feel like arguing, since both sides have long been entrenched in their understandings and beliefs and all that happens is that everyone’s blood pressure rises to unhealthy levels.

I enjoy shooting the breeze about sports, especially golf. I like talking about music, woodworking, astronomy, religion, what NASA is up to, what the grandkids have been up to, and maybe a book my wife or I have been reading.

Daily writing prompt

When is the last time you took a risk? How did it work out?

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I keep returning to the decision to pull up roots and move the family to Gettysburg, in order to go to seminary. That’ll always be the risk-taking standard for me. Pastoring is a challenging line of work, but it worked out.

Otherwise, I don’t necessarily see risk taking as something great. I’ve never been inspired or moved by the value of “stretching myself” just for the sake of something to do. And adventure is a relative term. The “best version of myself” will always remain elusive and unattainable, which doesn’t mean I haven’t acknowledged my growing edges and tried to be a better person.

I once had to return to college in the middle of a major snowstorm, but that was unavoidable, since I was a passenger in a car driven by the person who just needed to get back to campus that night. If I didn’t get in, I would have been stranded in the Twin Cities without a way to get back to school. It was a risky venture, in my estimation, and a nail biter of a trip, but we made it.