Paralyzed and silent in her bed, my daughter Paula taught me a lesson that is now my mantra: You only have what you give. It’s by spending yourself that you become rich. …The pain of losing my child was a cleansing experience. I had to throw overboard all excess baggage and keep only what is essential. Because of Paula, I don’t cling to anything anymore. Now I like to give much more than I receive. I am happier when I... Read more
On this day in 1776 the colony of Rhode Island formally renounced any allegiance to the British crown, two months before the lallygags in the other colonies followed suit… (It would also become the last state to ratify the constitution. But that’s another story…) We may be small, but we’re feisty… Read more
FROM PROVIDENCE TO KATMANDU AND BACK AGAIN Reflections on a Spiral Path A Sermon byJames Ishmael Ford 3 May 2009 First Unitarian ChurchProvidence, Rhode Island Text The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’ sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I... Read more
Due to attempts to use the comments on my blog for purposes beyond my intent for this blog I have disabled that function. If anyone has anything to say to me about any blog entry, or for that matter, on any subject, please feel free to contact me directly. I post an address prominently in the field to the right of the posts. Read more
It is interesting, while it has felt like forever, it is less than forty-eight hours, by a long shot, and we are now home. Auntie actually is walking around, although we think that will change as pain meds wear off. I ran down to the Rite Aid to fill her prescriptions and came back to find one of the lay ministers handing off a bag of yums for us. Nice to feel cared for! I spent most of the past... Read more
Miss California in 2003 (and the Miss America swimsuit winner…) Nicole Lamarache has stated for the record her support for Marriage Equality. I’m pleased to add Ms Lamarache is a fellow alumn from the Pacific School of Religion and has gone on to ordain and currently serves as pastor of the Cotuit Federated Church out on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts… It is also probably fair to say this Miss California is a tad more competent to speak to the subject... Read more
Auntie & I drove up to the Mirriam this morning for her mastectomy. Checking in was uneventful. In the waiting room they have a large display screen that tracks patient’s process by number. However, there is no wi fi there, so instead they have my cell phone number and I’m sitting in the cafeteria as I type these words… Auntie, for those who don’t know, has lived with Jan and me for nearly twenty years when we moved her and... Read more
I opened my blog this morning to discover an anonymous comment on something I wrote a year ago, it commenting on attending a memorial service for one of Jan’s co-workers, someone she deeply admired, and from a distance, so did I. It was a Catholic service and I chose to give a running account of my experience of the service. Over the past year it received four or five comments, all negative. My clinical read on the service annoyed several... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In