A Beacon of Light

“What one loves in childhood stays in their heart forever.”  Mary Jo Putney A local author, Ann Lamott, has created a new website to encourage writers to write. She sends out writing prompts for those who need a bit of guidance to get them started. Normally, I’m not in need of such urging. I encounter…

“A plant is the most patient and forgiving teacher.”  Srikumar Rao When I first met Kathy back in August 1984, to welcome me to my new job at Saint Lawrence Parish in Santa Clara, she gave me a beautiful plant for my office. It was a nice addition to what was otherwise a fairly bland…

“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”  Oscar Wilde Stephanie’s story was heartbreaking. She spoke of the violence in her home during her formative years. She described the dangers of the constant gang activity in the neighborhood in which her family home was located, which included the death of her younger…

“If I know what love is, it is because of you.”  Hermann Hesse In our home this morning, we will celebrate Mother’s Day. Our three boys and their families will be here for a feast of breakfast burritos from La Victoria Taqueria in San José. There will be a dozen of us altogether. I’m fairly…

“My favorite place to vacation is anyplace by the ocean.”  Nina Arianda It’s been a brief getaway, and now it’s ending. I’m sitting at a small table in Los Angeles International Airport waiting to board my flight back to San José. The duration of this visit was ideal — four days. Any shorter would have…

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”  Henry Miller The Southwest Airlines “Wanna get away?” marketing campaign, which ran from 1998 to 2008, was brilliant. A woman in an airport had a problem with her contact lens, so she blindly stumbled into the rest room to use the mirror…

“A town isn’t a town without a bookstore.”  Neil Gaiman The Town of Los Gatos, California may once again legitimately call itself, by Neil Gaiman’s definition, a town. After years of small, independent bookstores in Los Gatos closing, succumbing to the popularity and convenience of giant online booksellers, the doors have opened to a new,…

“Expectation is the root of all heartache.” William Shakespeare In June of 1979, I graduated from Santa Clara University and moved into a small, two-bedroom house on Lincoln Street in Santa Clara. It was yet another one of those undeserved gifts with which I’ve been blessed in my life. The owner, Mr. Edwin Moore, was…

“Your core values are the deeply-held beliefs that authentically describe your soul.”  John C. Maxwell I’ve often been asked if I write a blog post and then find an image to support it, or if I select an image and then write a blog post. My answer is always the same. “Yes!” I have done…

“It’s such a shame to waste time. We always think we have so much of it.” Mitch Albom As I approach my 70th birthday, these prophetic words by Mitch Albom, from his book For One More Day, ring true. I have always believed that I have plenty of time to do all the things I’ve…