A Beacon of Light

“I don’t mind a reasonable amount of trouble.” Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon) Anyone born and raised in San Francisco, or who had ancestors living in The City from the mid-1930’s through the turbulent ’60’s, will more than likely find the book I finished reading last night to be of tremendous interest. Co-authored by Glenn…

“Our wounds are often openings into the best and most beautiful part of us.” David Richo  Today’s blog post is a brief summary of David Richo’s inspiring book 5 Things We Cannot Change. 1. Everything changes. In life, change is inevitable. No matter how much we try to resist it or hold on to what is familiar, everything is…

“Wish not so much to live long as to live well.”  Benjamin Franklin Jimmy Melton was our neighbor when Kathy and I moved into our home on Panda Lane in October 1986. He was young, I’d estimate in his late 20’s or early 30’s. He was single. I don’t recall what he did for a living, but…

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”  Albert Einstein My good friend and mentor, Preston Moss, shared a thought with me back in 1975 when I was teaching at Saint Augustine’s College in the Bahamas. Here it is, almost fifty years later, and his words are as pertinent…

“The Postal Service exists to serve every American, regardless of where you live or what you believe.”  Conor Lamb It’s not unusual for me to hear people complain about the postal service. Some complain that their mail is delivered too late in the afternoon. It’s true that mail occasionally gets delivered to the wrong address. The cost of…

“For those of you in the cheap seats, clap your hands to this one; the rest of you can just rattle your jewelry.”  John Lennon I was in San Francisco for the Summer of Love in 1967. Somehow, I missed it. I lived with my family in the Sunset, not far from the San Francisco…

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped-up in each other.”Burton Hillis The 2023 holiday season is right around the corner. Retail outlets are elaborately adorned with Halloween, Thanksgiving and, yes, even Christmas decorations. One of the greatest challenges each year is to find an appropriate Christmas gift for…

A friend shared this with me today. It is too well-written for me not to share with you. The following are the words of Pope Francis. They are powerful. They are hopeful. They are enlightening. Please take your time and read this piece slowly. • • • You can be flawed, anxious and sometimes irritated,…

“I can walk down the  streets of San Francisco,  and here I’m normal.”Robin Williams With all due respect, it’s not San Fran, and it’s most definitely not Frisco. San Francisco is The City — with a capital T and capital C. This is something with which all native San Franciscans can agree. In fact, there…

“Students don’t care   how much you know   until they know   how much you care.” John C. Maxwell In my early days of teaching, I attended a professional development presentation by Dr. Eleanor Brown at which she spoke these prophetic words (paraphrased): If you are someone who needs immediate positive feedback from your…