I ASKED FOR STORIES LAST TIME; I GOT 'EM. Here are two interesting accounts: Dick—Only God knows what allowed me to sense when a particular person my wife and I knew was in my vicinity, but it happened far beyond coincidence. I’d go into a store or post office and...

(SER-UH N-DIP-I-TEE) Noun. A fortunate happenstance. (Ellie’s definition: GOD'S UNEXPECTED SURPRISES.) A number of years ago, Jim and I were traveling north on I-83 through Pennsylvania.  the map showed how close we were to Messiah College where Grandson Paul was...

“IF ANYTHING CAN GO WRONG…etc.” It’s been a month. Caveat: If you’re not into long lists of woes, cut to the bottom. Sciatica—the mule kick-in-the-butt sort. I’m now well acquainted with my piriformis muscle that rubs the sciatic nerve the wrong way. Stretching...

Oh, it's a long, long while From May to December, But the days grow short When you reach September. When the autumn weather Turns leaves to flame, One hasn't got time For the waiting game. Oh, the days dwindle down To a precious few, September, November. And these few...

I LOST MY BROTHER A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. Not my biological sibling who died in 1999. This is a different sort of kinship. When I married Jim Gustafson, his brother John Alfred came with the deal. To his family he was Al or Alfred. The rest of the world called him...