A Beacon of Light

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  • My name is Kevin Carroll. I was born and raised in San Francisco, California, where I attended Saint Ignatius College Preparatory. I am a graduate of both Santa Clara University and the University of San Francisco. Following a 40-year career in teaching and pastoral ministry, I launched a new career as a writer and speaker.

    I live in San José, California. My wife, Kathy, and I have three adult sons and five precious grandchildren. I have much for which to be grateful.

    I can be reached via email at kmc43sjc@gmail.com

    My books are available for purchase online from Amazon. I also have copies of some of these titles at my home for those who would like to buy them directly from me.

    A Moment’s Pause for Gratitude  (2017)

    Cherries in the Summer  (2021)

    The Ambassador of 38th Avenue  (2022)

    Dad: 12 Questions…  (2023)

    A Focus on Gratitude  (2024)

    Through the Lens of Gratitude  (2024)

    A Bahamian Odyssey (2026)

  • 12.27.22 – Rain

    “The best thing one can do
    when it’s raining is to let it rain.”

    ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    I love rainy days — not the annoying soft drizzle which sprays the earth with a fine mist, but a consistent, prolonged downpour which cleans the air, disinfects the trees, washes the pavement, and nourishes my soul. In recent years, such rain storms have been rare in California. Beginning today, and continuing for the next two weeks, the San Francisco Bay Area is expecting to get soaked. Given the drought conditions we’ve been under for the past several years, this is something for which to be grateful.

    While I enjoy the rain, I prefer to experience it from the warmth and comfort of my home. Gazing out the window of my home office brings me tremendous solitude, especially on a day like today. The sound of rain tapping against the window is music to my ears. In some ways, it is similar to driving my car through the local car wash. I put the car in neutral, then just sit back and relax as the cleaning process plays out. Driving away in a clean car is always a refreshing experience for me. Rainy days can be like this, too.

    I’m grateful to have nowhere to go today. In fact, there is nowhere I need to go for the next two weeks! I’m totally content to stay home and enjoy nature’s cleansing power. 

    As the English writer, John Ruskin, so eloquently proclaimed, “There is no such thing as bad weather.”

  • 12.26.22 – Christmas

    Christmas Day 2022 has come and gone. Has this year been better than previous years? I guess it depends upon who you ask. Three years into the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re still dealing with alarming surges in positive cases across the country and around the world. Politics is still politics. The economy has been a blessing for some and a curse for many. And as families gathered to celebrate the holidays, many were grieving the loss of loved ones. Still others were trying to cope with significant medical issues — their own or those of family and friends. Despite it all, we did our best to celebrate the holidays in whatever way we could.

    Kathy and I are grateful to have gathered with our three sons, two daughters-in-law, and four grandchildren here at our home on Christmas Eve. The little ones kept the magic of Christmas alive as they marveled at the Christmas tree, beautifully decorated with lights and ornaments. They also had a great time opening a few gifts which had been wrapped and placed under the tree for safekeeping. Kathy prepared a delicious Christmas meal featuring lasagna from Tony & Alba’s Restaurant in San José. Lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner was a tradition in Kathy’s family of origin. Her Dad made the best!

    On Christmas Day, Kathy and I enjoyed the peace and solitude of our own home. For the first time since we met in 1984, it was just the two of us for Christmas dinner this year. Yes, it was different. Then, again, much in our lives is different now. We watched a little football, then watched two Christmas classics on TV — It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story. Of course, we’d seen both many times before, but the experience was no less enjoyable.

    While most of the nation was dealing with bitter cold temperatures and blizzard conditions, Christmas weekend here in San José was delightful with temperatures in the mid-60s. Only now, as we begin the countdown to 2023, are we preparing for what local meteorologists are calling an atmospheric river. This multiple band of rainstorms is set to begin some time this evening and continue for up to two weeks. It won’t be cold. We won’t have to deal with snow. We’re just going to get a good soaking here on the West Coast, something we desperately need to relieve the drought conditions which have existed for the past few years.

    Life is not perfect, but it is good.

    Very good!   

  • 12.22.22 – Better to Give

    This video showed up on my Facebook feed today. Thanks to my former student, Elaine (Sobejana) Chatterton, for sharing it. Sorry for the brief commercial that precedes the story.

    From CBS News (click this)

  • 12.07.22 – Um… okay.

    It’s been a busy day around here today. Normally, on Wednesdays, we take care of Penny and Scarlett. The highlight of our day is “Story Time” at the West Valley branch of the San José Library. I take Penny while Scarlett stays home with Kathy and takes a nap. This morning, Kathy received a phone call from our daughter-in-law, Hillaray, informing us that Emily wasn’t feeling well at school and asking if she could drop her off with us. Of course, we are happy to have her here.

    After lunch, Penny and Emily sat with Kathy at the dining room table to decorate a few Christmas cookies. Not surprisingly, Penny ended up with Nutella on her hands and around her mouth. While I was standing in the kitchen preparing a hot chocolate for myself, Penny walked in and, as she so often does, said, “Papa, up!”

    I lifted her up and she placed her head gently on my left shoulder. It’s at moments like this that I could just melt. But then, with her face in my shoulder, she moved her head back and forth a few times.

    “Penny,” I asked suspiciously, “is there chocolate all over Papa’s shoulder now?”

    “No,” Penny replied reassuringly. “Just snot.”

  • 12.06.22 – Being There

    “We’re all just walking each other home.”
    ~ Ram Dass

    Being there for someone is one of the most human things we can do. When a person we know and care for experiences a loss in their life, it is common, and certainly appropriate, that we respond with compassion… and presence. This loss might be the death of a loved one. It may also be a significant illness or other tribulation a loved one is going through at a particular time. In either case, the person we care about is suffering, and we have the opportunity to support them in their time of grief.

    Rarely, if ever, can we alleviate the pain of another person. Grief is a solitary journey. Each of us grieves in our own way and in our own time. No one else can do our grieving for us. With that said, we do have the ability (responsibility?) to walk with a grieving person. We can be there for them, or be there with them, to remind them that they are not alone. We’ve all been there. We know the pain.

    I was reminded of this reality when my Mom died. I was overwhelmed with the support I received from family and friends who had walked their own journey of grief before me. They could understand what I was experiencing. They empathized with me, because they’d been there. I appreciated their presence and support more than I can say.

    Those of us who have grieved the loss of a loved one have much to offer to those experiencing a similar loss in their own life. We may feel that we don’t know exactly what to say, but that’s okay. Quite often, nothing at all needs to be said. Just to be there with and for that person is sufficient. Just as others walked with us in our time of grief, we, too, can ease the burden of others through our compassionate presence and concern.

    It’s true. We are all just walking each other home.

  • 12.01.22 – Kids & Books

    The research is clear. Children who are introduced to books at an early age have an advantage for a lifetime. And while the academic advantages can be cited through research, there’s something even more valuable. Throughout their lifetime, children who are read to by loving, caring adults will associate reading with the overwhelming experience of being loved. This is an advantage for the adults, too.

    It was raining today, and both Penny and Scarlett felt a little under the weather this morning, so Penny skipped a day of preschool. We all stayed home to make the most of the day. The girls played with a variety of toys in the morning while listening to children’s Christmas music on Pandora. Then, just before lunchtime, Penny pulled out the first of five books for me to read to her today. It didn’t take long for Scarlett to join us.

    After longer than usual naps (for all of us!), Grandma pulled out the box of plain sugar Christmas cookies for Penny to decorate. The task was a bit more complicated than Scarlett can handle at this point, so she busied herself with other endeavors. We now have a variety of dessert items to enjoy: stars, bells, and Christmas trees decorated with bright-colored red, green, white, and blue frosting.

    As the afternoon went on, Scarlett still wasn’t feeling well and got a bit cranky, so I held her in my arms standing by the dining room window. This enabled her to see the trees and enjoy the rain falling outside. It was magical how it calmed her down.

    Am I enjoying being a grandpa? Oh, yes!!! I can’t think of anything better to do with my life at this point.

  • 11.28.22 – A Simple Gesture

    Kathy and I enjoyed a delicious Sunday night dinner at Tony & Alba’s in San José last night. It’s one of our favorite places to go for pizza, pasta, and dessert. The family-owned restaurant is located on Stevens Creek Boulevard, just west of the Valley Fair Mall and Santana Row.

    As a simple gesture of gratitude in this holiday season, and to provide for some of the most vulnerable members of our community, Tony & Alba’s is sponsoring a RAP — Random Act of Pizza initiative. Customers, neighbors, and friends are invited and encouraged to purchase a $10 certificate for a RAP. Tony & Alba’s will then provide a pizza dinner, including salad, drinks, and dessert, to an economically-disadvantaged family in the San José area.

    RAP certificates may be purchased in person at the restaurant, or your $10 donation may be sent via Venmo. My recommendation is that you stop by for lunch or dinner, enjoy a meal for yourself, and share the holiday spirit with the purchase of a RAP certificate. Its a win-win!

  • 11.25.22 – And So It Begins

    Black Friday! Yes, the day after Thanksgiving. It’s a day I normally stay home… and out of harm’s way. Today, I went out once and made two stops — Staples, to pick up my 2023 weekly planner, and Walgreen’s, to restock my supply of shampoo and Zyrtec. Such excitement, right? Hey, I’m living life to the fullest!!!

    Seriously, though, today marks the official start of the holiday shopping season. I’ll admit that I’m not a big fan of shopping, much less an entire season devoted to it. I’m at a point in my life when I leave most of the Christmas shopping to Kathy. She seems to thrive in the frenzied holiday shopping environment. What little shopping I wanted to do for Christmas 2022 has been done, and it was done online.

    So with my own shopping out of the way, I thought I’d take this opportunity to invite you to consider my latest book, The Ambassador of 38th Avenue, for your holiday shopping. Whether your friends and loved ones are looking for a book to bring back memories of growing up in San Francisco, or just possibly looking for some inspiring positivity to enrich their lives, this book might be the ideal gift for them. And you can even tell them, “Hey, I know the author!”

    I appreciate the convenience of Amazon delivering directly to the homes of the recipients of my Christmas gifts. Distance becomes a non-issue.

    As we prepare for the celebration of Christmas on December 25th, I wish you all the best. May all your gifts, whatever they are, be infused with love and gratitude.

  • 11.24.22 – A Moment’s Pause…

    Thanksgiving Day is my favorite holiday of the year. I cherish the wonderful memories of family dinners with my cousins at my grandparents’ home on Marsily Street in San Francisco. It was there that I developed a love for dark turkey meat, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes with turkey gravy. For some reason, I didn’t like pumpkin pie until much later in life, and I never did develop a taste for yams.

    As time went on, we began to celebrate Thanksgiving at my family home on 38th Avenue. The menu was pretty much the same and the sense of belonging, family, and love continued. It was there that I eventually graduated from the “kids’ table” to the main table for dinner. As we got older, our family traditions were altered in response to those of our in-laws and the arrival of the next generation of children. 

    Many changes have affected our celebration of Thanksgiving in recent years. My father’s death in July 2008, my mother’s 2012 move to a retirement community in Mountain View, the sale of our family home in The City in 2014, and the restrictions of the pandemic in both 2020 and 2021 all caused adjustments to our holiday celebrations. And this year, for the first time, Mom will celebrate Thanksgiving in Heaven.

    As important as the family celebration of Thanksgiving is to me,… and it most certainly is,… a national focus on gratitude is the highlight of the day. Sure, there are those who don’t get it. There are those for whom this day will not be a day of gratitude at all. For some it will be all about food and football. I get it. I’m confident, however, that most Americans will pause and give consideration today to the many ways in which each one of us has been blessed. I know I will.

  • 11.21.22 – Could It Be?

    I got into my car in the parking lot outside the barber shop the other day. There it was — a single autumn leaf, perched gently upon the windshield, just smiling at me. I sat there, enveloped by the warmth of the car’s interior on that otherwise brisk November afternoon. I embraced the moment. What made this experience so special? Some might scoff at the idea, but I had an overwhelming sense of my mother’s presence at that moment.

    I had a similar experience of Mom’s presence earlier this evening. I was mindlessly scrolling through Facebook posts when I noticed a quote by Maya Angelou. It was a quote with which I was unfamiliar. I read it several times. What made her words so special? Some might scoff at this, too, but I had another unmistakeable sense of Mom’s presence.

    Angelou’s words were simple:

    “My wish for you is that you continue.
    Continue to be who and how you are,
    to astonish a mean world
    with your acts of kindness.”

    My response might best be summed up in the insightful quote by Dag Hammarskjöld, former Secretary General of the United Nations:

    “For all that has been, thanks;
    for all that will be,… Yes!”