Opinion: Columns

The ancestors of many Streator folks built this church from the ground up.

Raise your hand if you don’t like to leave your comfort zone.

When I say I geek out at the word “writing,” I mean it is ingrained in the compass of my soul, and each time I see or hear it, the ears of my heart perk up and I have to see why it is calling to me now.

If you remember September 11, 2001; and that crisp, clear, sunny morning, as well as that crisp, clear, sunny – but remarkably silent – evening is indelibly imprinted on your soul, then you can understand why.

I commented aloud what I had been thinking for a while: “It always makes me a little sad when the flowers start to fade a little.”

It happens every year about this time. Memes begin popping up all over social media, expressing eager anticipation for “autumn vibes.”

Earlier this week he was at his Grandma’s house, and since no one was home, and he was hungry, he thought he would try to feed himself.

A picture of my late grandmother in a frame on the desk I am working on at my mom’s house enchants me as I write today.

It is difficult for people to acknowledge the tradition they adhere to can, like all human systems, be corrupt, especially when they are taught not to question authority.

Thursday marks 70 years since the signing of the armistice between the United States, North Korea, and China that ended hostilities in the three-year conflict, which involved 24 nations and cost 2.2 million casualties.

Many years ago, as I compiled a bridal shower gift for a co-worker, I encountered some incisive words from St. Teresa of Kolkata, better known as Mother Teresa, who died in 1997.

Every once in a while, I encounter a piece of writing that leaves me in stunned silence.

In a world where everything is built on some kind of “exchange,” – as in, “you do this for me, and I will do that for you,” – it is a breath of fresh air to benefit from the completely unearned kindness of a random stranger.

I learned fairly early on that the corporate life is incompatible with my personality and life’s purpose. Doing something meaningful is essential to my wellbeing physically, psychologically and spiritually.

I would be remiss if I did not write of today’s subject matter. It could save your life or that of someone you love.