A very good friend of mine, a man whom I only knew for the final six or seven years of his life, died five years ago today. I learned a lot from him; he is still a very real presence in my life. Here is what I wrote in tribute to Ivan Kauffman on the day of his funeral in late July 2015. Monday morning–early. The 30th Street Amtrak station in Philadelphia is not the sort of place I normally find... Read more
A recent edition of The New Yorker had a timely cartoon on the back page. Two mourners are at a funeral home standing in front of the recently deceased’s open coffin. In the coffin is the Grim Reaper, complete with black hood and skeletal hands clutching his scythe. The caption reads: “I was hoping taxes would go first.” But they didn’t, and Tax Day is upon us–tomorrow. Thanks to COVID-19 and related matters, it is three months later than usual, something that... Read more
This morning I have the privilege of giving the sermon at Trinity Episcopal Church in Pawtuxet, RI (outside, wearing masks and properly distanced, of course). This is what I will be saying. When it comes to social media, I limit myself to Facebook and Twitter. Twitter is mostly for sports (and the occasional snarky political comment), while Facebook is for blog traffic, staying connected with family, and making new friends (mostly through my blog). But I do send my blog... Read more
I’m in the early stages this summer of working on my next book project—a memoirish book with the tentative title Nice Work If You Can Get It. The project has not advanced as far as I had thought it would have by now, but hey—it’s only July. Jeanne has reminded me several times that this book will need to include a chapter or two on teaching during COVID-19, and she’s right. The problem is that even though, along with thousands... Read more
Two summers ago, Jeanne and I took our first honest-to-God vacation in our thirty-plus years together. We went to Scotland for nine days, the first time that we had ever gone on a vacation that did not involve seeing family, squeezing in a work conference, or some other justification for simply taking a break. We simply picked a place—Scotland—and went. We had such a wonderful time that, even before we returned home, we were planning the next time that we... Read more
Teaching for twenty-five years in an interdisciplinary program with colleagues from a multitude of disciplines has provided me with the best that academe can offer a professor—a continuing education. In an academic world which so often demands narrower and narrower research focus and specialization from its members, it has been a gift to spend the majority of my career thus far at a place that welcomes breadth and encourages—and sometimes requires—its faculty to regularly wander outside their comfort zone in... Read more
Every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig-tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. George Washington, Letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, RI Tomorrow is Independence Day—in most parts of the country, it will be a 4th without huge fireworks displays, with closed beaches and constant reminders that things have been, currently are, and for the foreseeable future will be very different than what we expect and hope for. I’m reminded of something Jeanne... Read more
During the past month, in the context of protests for racial justice and police reform in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, I have come across an interesting meme several times on social media: White supremacists use the Bible to justify their racism. Problem is, there are no white people in the Bible. True, but I did not know that until I was at least in high school. The Jesus I grew up with was white, his Dad... Read more
I’ve been thinking a lot about end of life issues lately. Really. They seem to be showing up everywhere–on the television show we are currently binge-watching, in my readings in the Psalms, in Montaigne’s Essais that I taught last semester, in a lead article in the Atlantic that just came in the mail, in a novel I am rereading that will be the first assignment in my ethics class in the fall. You know who never talks about end of life issues? Political candidates.... Read more
Man is in his actions and practices, as well as in his fictions, essentially a story-telling animal. Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue One of the things I appreciated as a Baptist kid was that, according to the Gospel accounts, Jesus was a great story teller. Sure, he also could give sermons or speeches and pontificate at length—especially in John’s gospel–but for me then, as well as now, his most effective communication was through his parables. These short stories, populated with people, animals, and... Read more
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