Maybe it was because I was preparing to attend my niece’s high school graduation ceremony. Or maybe it’s because my 25th college reunion is coming up this weekend. It’s probably because it’s May, and that seems to be the time when I start feeling nostalgic. Or at least, more nostalgic than usual. Last week, I…
Why I love memoirs
“My story is important not because it is mine, God knows, but because if I tell it anything like right, the chances are you will recognize that in many ways it is also yours.” —Frederick Buechner, Telling Secrets
Random thoughts for a new year
A friend posted this to Facebook yesterday: I just learned that the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions harkens back to the ancient idol worship of a two-faced Roman god. That makes me feel better about my lack of success in making/keeping any. I certainly do not want to be accused of being an idol…
My dad’s life in four parts
My dad recently sat down with freelance reporter, Ron Paglia, for an interview about his life. The resulting story is being published in four parts by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Mon Valley section. I am archiving them here as they are published. Enjoy! Facing life’s challenges led to success (November 25, 2012) Part 1 of 4…
Writing prompts
In April, I attended my favorite writing conference ever: Calvin College’s Festival of Faith & Writing. To be fair, I haven’t attended very many writing conferences in my lifetime, but I can’t imagine I would find another event of its kind to measure up. I so appreciate the variety and thoughtfulness of the participants, the…
Remembering Mom
Five years ago today, my mom lost her battle with pancreatic cancer. For months afterward, the 17th held a weird, indefinable significance. Not so much anymore, but my favorite season, autumn, has taken on a more-than-melancholy feeling for me since 2006. I’ve been thinking about her all day, and I will be all week; a…
A Green Party at the White House
This weekend, I’m heading to homecoming weekend at my college alma mater for the first time in…well…a long time. Possibly decades. The occasion? A 40-year celebration of ACO, or Allegheny Christian Outreach, the place where I found my identity as a college student and my calling as a post-graduate. I know I will not see as…
Solving the Mystery of The Blue Folder
This one is for Katie. I’m not convinced anyone else will (or should) care. I found The Blue Folder.
Secrets, treasures, anguish, triumph
“We must not see any person as an abstraction. Instead, we must see in every person a universe with its own secrets, with its own treasures, with its own sources of anguish, and with some measure of triumph.” —Elie Wiesel
Remembering September 11, 2001
It was a beautiful, clear, sunny Tuesday morning in Pittsburgh, and I was running late for work. As was my custom when this happened, when NPR’s Morning Edition signed off, I switched off the radio and turned on the TV to catch the first few minutes of Live with Regis and Kelly. But Regis and…
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