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)

  • 12.07.22 – 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!”

  • 11.17.22 – A New Beginning

    After sixteen years of blogging on the topic of gratitude, I felt it was time to make a change. I wasn’t exactly sure what that change would be. In fact, I’m still not sure. Writing continues to be an activity which nourishes my soul, so it seems natural that I would consider a new, different platform on which to share my thoughts. This might be it.

    My passion for gratitude has not waned. I do have a desire, however, to write on a broader array of topics in the future. I will do my best to avoid politics. To be honest, I don’t know enough about what’s happening politically in our country to comment with any sense of integrity. For my own peace of mind, I choose to focus my attention elsewhere.

    2022 has been a challenging year. I was hoping that, following the pandemic years, this year would be a good one — and in many ways, it has been. Unfortunately, the death of my mother-in-law in April, followed by my own mother’s death in August, marred what might otherwise have been a very good year. I’ve also been dealing with some health issues this year. I’m learning to take life one day at a time.

    So this is it… the launch of A Beacon of Light. My hope is that readers find my writing to be both interesting and inspirational.