As I mention in the introductory words of this page, I have always had a special place in my heart for lighthouses. This led to an interesting situation when I began working at Saint Lawrence Parish in Santa Clara.

The office space when I began my work there came unfurnished. I was given a budget to purchase the necessary items — desk, chairs, file cabinet, etc. Wall decorations were not included in the deal. Of course, I wanted the office to look good and complete, so I purchased four framed photos to hang on the walls. Two of the photos were images of sunsets and two were of lighthouses. 

When my first Christmas at Saint Lawrence came around, my secretary gave me a thoughtful gift. It was a beautiful lighthouse filled with Old Spice cologne. I’m not one to use cologne, but I liked the lighthouse, so I put it on my desk as a decoration. I kept it on my desk for 31 years!

The following summer, one of my other colleagues gave me a gift she purchased for me while on a trip to Hawaii with her family. It was a transparent, hard plastic paperweight with a lighthouse scene etched in it. It was nice. It, too, found a home on my desk.

As time went on, many people who came into my office or classroom noticed that I had a small collection of lighthouses. Because of this, for many years, students would give me small ceramic lighthouses from around the country as gifts at Christmas or at the end of the academic year. It ended up being quite a large collection. By the time I retired, I had more than fifty lighthouses, or pictures of lighthouses in my workspace.

I do have a special place in my heart for lighthouses, but I was unable to bring all those items home with me when I retired. I invited students in the last class I taught to select an item if they wanted one. I kept one, which now sits on my desk here in my home office.

Lighthouses provide guidance to those at sea. They point the way to safety, or, at least, they indicate areas of danger to avoid. I like to provide similar guidance with much of my writing. I like to encourage people to move forward, with confidence, in the direction of their dreams and callings. And, occasionally, I share a story or two about experiences I’ve had in my life which might help others to avoid making the same mistakes in their own lives. 

There are many lighthouses in our lives, people or resources which guide us on our life journey. It’s important that we identify them, acknowledge them, and use the light of their beacon to light the way for us. Life is challenging. We can use all the help we can get!