Thursday Thought

What do seven-year-olds read?  Simple books. Funny little stories.  Maybe a pint-sized graphic novel.  Not Caleb.  He’s into, well, biblical archaeology. Seriously.  So, when his parents took him and his siblings to a museum exhibit focused on Egyptian Iconoclasm, Caleb was engaged to the max. Upon learning that the museum docent had taken part in a dig in Cairo, Caleb peppered her with questions.  He then steered the conversation toward the biblical account of Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt.  Caleb highlighted new research supported by biblical evidence, suggesting that the timeline in many history books may be wrong—and…

I am jostling back and forth, riding the rails of an afternoon express out of Chicago.  Not trying to snoop, but you really can't miss the reflection in the window on my right.  It mirrors the computer screen of the passenger in front of me.  Though the window image is blurry (dirty glass), I can't help noticing he is watching a video.  But rather than enjoy that video full-size on his 17-inch laptop screen, he has it—no pun intended—in a small window.  He's okay seeing his content at less than full-size — way less. Lots of phone users do the same…

Auschwitz.  By now, you may feel like you’ve heard enough about this Nazi death camp on the 75th anniversary of its liberation. But indulge me just 90 seconds more. In a recent survey, two-thirds of American Millennials and 44% of the general population could not identify Auschwitz.  An article in The American Citizen asserts that “11% of adults and 22% of Millennials haven’t heard or were not sure if they’ve heard of the Holocaust. A shocking 41% of Millennials and 31% of adults thought that fewer than two million had been killed. About half of both groups could not identify…

Is it okay with you if I gripe briefly about the hotel industry? Diana and I just returned from a 10-day Florida trip where we stayed in three different hotels.  I noticed a common theme in all three of them: they work hard to impress you with their lobby—but not nearly as hard on the condition of your room.  In the lobbies of all three hotels, we encountered vaulted ceilings, iridescent artwork, and hammered glass dispensers offering cucumber-infused water at the turn of a spigot. So far, so good. All three of our hotels were name brand places.  All three…

You’ve been there, gazing into the night sky with friends, all of whom find a shooting star—except you. Or everyone in the car spots the huge eagle—except you.   That was my experience padding along the shoreline of Mickler’s Landing, on the southern end of Florida’s Ponte Vedra Beach. Famous for shark teeth, we were there on the hunt for these black triangular treasures that wash up on the shore. My granddaughter quickly found one in the foamy wash. Ditto my daughter, whose haul for the morning totaled seven. Me? I found none, despite many steps up and down the…

How long does a Sunday School teacher’s impact last? As a first-grader, it was riveting watching the Sunday School teacher stick images of Bible characters on a flannel graph.  There was just something about “seeing” Joseph and his coat of many colors. Or Daniel in the lions’ den.  The mischievous me admits to chuckling at the figures when they occasionally tumbled off the felt board.  But those stories somehow came alive (my wife, a preschool teacher, tells me that even in an age of iPads, kids still adore flannel graph stories). Around the second or third grade, I recall Mrs….

Ever hear of a town named Goofy Ridge? I didn't think so.  However, Goofy Ridge is a real place, near the center of Illinois. And that's not the only oddball city name in the Land of Lincoln.  There's Bonegap (southeastern Illinois) and Oblong, also southeast.   Head far south, and you'll arrive at a town named Muddy. But if you’re hungry, by all means, stop at Sandwich in DeKalb county.   Careful—or you might lose yourself in Lost Nation (Ogle County).  But you’re always welcome in Hometown (on the southeast border of Chicago).  Who knew city names could be so entertaining? On…

Christmas Eve with a six-year-old is a Christmas Eve is worth doing! So there we were—Lucy and me—at our church.  She snuggled up on my lap as we watched Pastor Jim Lennon sketch a large chalk-art presentation all timed to a music track.    At first, Pastor Jim’s broad strokes and dark colors impressed her.  But as the drawing continued, Lucy seemed a bit puzzled.  “What’s he doing?” she asked.  I explained that he was mixing colors for detail and depth.  “And what are those?” she inquired, pointing to some black rectangles in the upper left corner. I told her, “They…

Carl is one of those guys who calls ‘em as he sees 'em.  He works for a public school that features an annual Breakfast with Santa the first Saturday in December.  "It's a nice event," Carl assesses.  "Pancakes and sausages and Santa.  What's not to like?"   It’s a lot of extra work for Carl.  “We get maybe 100 kids with their parents.” But at this year’s breakfast with Santa, Carl—who is a believer—stood talking with a school official. "You know it's funny when you think about it," offered Carl.   "All this work because of a guy who doesn't even exist—Santa. …

There are 34,000 species of spiders in America, and this time of year, a disturbing number of them decide it’s time to crawl from the backyard into your home.  Hence, our daughter’s appointment with an exterminator. The pest control industry will pardon three-year-old, Sadie, for labeling the guy who showed up at her door as "Bug Guy." If Bug Guy was on a mission, so was Sadie. The moment he stepped inside their home, she got right to it.  "Hey, Bug Guy, do you love Jesus?"  Sadie giggled, but the man offered no reply as he clomped down the stairs….