It’s different, but that’s not altogether a bad thing. — While faith and spirituality can be deeply personal, much about how we worship is highly social. Or at least it was, until the pandemic hit. Singing, praising, communing and celebrating are something we used to do together. Just as COVID, and the resulting need to social distance, has affected just…

The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on August 18, 1920, granting women the right to vote. One hundred years later we stand on the brink of potentially electing a black woman to serve as the 49th Vice President of the United States. What would a suffragette…

Smart, charming, persuasive and daring, she ruled an empire and captivated two of the most powerful men of her time. — When you think of powerful women, maybe Michelle Obama or Ruth Bader Ginsburg come to mind. Or perhaps you think of the solidarity behind the #MeToo movement and the women who took down Harvey Weinstein. Certainly there have been amazing women throughout time who have exerted power and changed the…

A Poem — Stardust — shimmering particles sprinkled like translucent powder across the inky galaxy. My spirit roams through canyons and soars over craters, exploring a distant moon. You never venture far, hemmed in by gravity. Together we are but one breath of the ancient soul of the universe. As we pass, we align, and for a brief moment…

A Poem — Creatures move, disappearing in the descending blackness. A nighttime world comes alive Under rocks and branches, deep within the forest. Hunters prowl on silent paws, alert under dark skies. Moonlight filters down between treetops, Silver streaks of paint on a brown-black canvas ground. Wind rustles, whispering answers to mysteries, Heard only by those that listen to the…

The story of how a small carpentry shop that made wooden toys turned into one of the top toy makers in the world. — When I was a little kid in the 1970s, you didn’t go online to buy the latest LEGO Star Wars or NINJAGO set. You went to the toy store. When my parents finally let me buy more legos, the question wasn’t one of which series to buy but rather how…

In high school, my archaeology teacher wore a bow tie. Seniors could elect to take an archaeology class, which held the allure of the occasional field trip to an old homestead near school where students could dig around for broken pottery and dishes. But the real motivation for many of…

Wonder Woman will turn 80 years old next year and yet she is as relevant today as she was for her audience back in 1941. Resourceful, brave, and ahead of her time, Wonder Woman is not one to let bullets, Nazis, or traditional cultural standards for women hold her…

I will confess that the thought of networking used to intimidate me. Frankly I wasn’t even sure that I knew what the term meant. Earlier in my career I wondered why anyone would even want to “network” with me. Being an introvert made it even more difficult as it took…