A Beacon of Light

“Music has healing power.” Elton John I was in middle school (1967) when Van Morrison, the singer-songwriter from Belfast, Ireland, hit the charts with his first hit song, Brown-Eyed Girl. Since that time, the artist has continued to create memorable tunes familiar to many of us. In 1995, Morrison released his twenty-third studio album, named after…

“You can’t stop a teacher when they want to do something. They just do it!”J.D. Salinger Yes, in mid-August!  Tonight, in homes across America, teachers are putting the final touches on their lesson plans for the upcoming week. Gone are the days when students and teachers returned to the classroom on the day after Labor Day in…

“Look back in GRATITUDE, stay present inLOVE, and the future will unfold with GRACE.”Judy Parker Kathy and I had the honor of attending a gathering this afternoon at Bracher Park in Santa Clara. Prior to today, I’d never been to this venue. With afternoon temperatures in the mid-80ºs, and a gentle breeze passing through the trees and across the vast…

I don’t think this image needs any explanation. It is, however, certainly worth pondering.

“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” Mark Twain I was recently asked to share my favorite story from my more than forty years of teaching. While I’m sure there are many I could have shared, this was the first that came to mind. I was teaching at Saint Lawrence Academy in Santa Clara.…

“A place where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars…”George Cory The acclaimed San Francisco cable cars have been serving The City by the Bay for the past 150 years. In my childhood, they were a viable means of transportation from downtown to Fisherman’s Wharf or Ghirardelli Square. A less popular route moved transit riders along California…

“Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them.”George Eliot At about this time on this date fifteen years ago, I found myself driving, quite unexpectedly, to San Francisco to say goodbye to my Dad. He had fallen down the steps of our family home and had been taken by ambulance to the trauma…

“Our legacy is really the lives we touch, the inspiration we give, altering someone’s plan, if even for a moment, and getting them to think, cry, laugh, and argue.”Carrie Hamilton It was a strange request. This past week, I assisted a friend of a friend in the process of updating his résumé and writing a cover letter for…

“Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Alexander William Kinglake (1830) This well-known children’s rhyme was included in a poem written in 1830. In my own childhood in the early 1960’s, these words were a common response to insults by bullies on the playground. I’m not exactly sure how old I was…

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Gandhi There is much in life over which we have no control. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that most things in life are out of our control. Does this leave us helpless to change the world? Absolutely not! One of the root…