Thursday Thought

She was the only kid in the McDonald’s Playland. Apparently, it happens a lot. Alexa is nine.  Her dad lives in one town, her mom in another,  17 miles away.  She was the only child in the McDonald’s Playland until we arrived with our two grandkids.   Though they are younger than Alexa, she chatted them up.  My wife and I, as well while we waited for our order. By the time I arrived with our tray of food, Alexa had seated herself at our table and stayed there for the entire duration of our meal.  She seemed plenty hungry—but not…

History oozes out if its pores—literally. On Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, the spire-topped Tribune Tower clutches at the sky. Every time I walk past, I can’t just walk past.  I linger.  Stare.  Ponder the wall of stories.  Constructed in 1925, the imposing gothic icon is embedded with stone and brick fragments of impressive pedigree.  Built right into the walls of the Tribune Tower are actual pieces from… The Berlin Wall The Alamo Wartburg Castle But that’s just the beginning.  Look further and you will find stones from: The White House Coliseum of Rome Temple in Jerusalem Great Pyramid of Giza The…

What’s the best day you can recall?  For me, it would be the day I married Diana. Unforgettable.  Our honeymoon trip to the tourist trap known as Wisconsin Dells is without doubt the most fun and the most fabulous memory I have. (You who are more spiritually minded will have to forgive me for not mentioning the day I received Christ as my favorite day.  But I was such a little kid at the time, I sort of took it all in stride).  For our daughter, Lynnette, her favorite day on the whole calendar is….can you guess?  Hint: It’s not…

The words came through but didn’t quite register. At exactly 1:47 on Tuesday afternoon an email arrived announcing that my father had died—”please pray for the family.”  But before I ever saw the email, my son Tim called and asked if I’d heard the “news.”  Something wasn’t adding up, so I placed a quick call to the email source (a wonderful family friend) and learned that they had made an error in identifying the deceased.  The lost loved one in question was actually my aunt.   A follow up email was immediately sent out to correct the error. Obviously, we are…

Everyone has heard of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who died in a Nazi concentration camp.  Fewer have heard of Gena Goldfinger, the girl who nursed 15-year old Anne as she lay dying. Before Gena's journey to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, she spent time at Auschwitz, where an apparent malfunction in a gas chamber spared her life.  But a brother was shot by the Nazi SS.  One of Gena's sisters was gunned down trying to smuggle food into the camp.  Another sister died a horrible death after being injected with gasoline by Dr. Mengele.   But little Gena—not even ten years…

How many balloons would it take to lift you off the ground? I’ve wondered about this question since I was a kid. Staring at the Pixar movie, Up, did nothing but stoke my imagination.  Maybe you’re curious, too.  Adventurist Tom Morgan was determined to find the answer to this question. He and some friends jetted to Botswana in southern Africa, having determined the wide open planes and plateaus were a perfect fit for their crazy experiment.  Strapped into a chair, Tom’s team attached 86 very large (think five-feet in diameter) helium-filled balloons.  And then he lifted off, higher and higher. …

Have you ever felt the blast of a bear exhaling on your hand?   Happened to me a few days ago. We were visiting a small town Wisconsin zoo and I found myself frustrated trying to take pictures of Bugaboo and Berryboo—a pair of Black Bears.  In addition to the very sturdy chain link fence that kept the bears where they belonged, there was a secondary fence that kept us back even further.  So taking pictures of the bears was more like taking pictures of the fence. In talking with one of the animal trainers I explained my dilemma, suggesting…

"This whole flap about fake news makes me laugh,” said my friend and armchair philosopher Jack. “What’s funny about fake news?” I queried. “The very name.  No such thing as fake news,” he insisted, removing his Chicago Cubs hat for a moment and scratching the side of his head.  “There’s truth and lies.  But in a culture that has cut ties with truth, the whole fake news brouhaha is hardly surprising.” “What do you mean we’ve ‘cut ties with the truth?” I fired back. “That’s a pretty harsh statement.” “Agreed. But when you dismiss the very idea of absolute truth,…

The train conductor has just punched my ticket.  Mike is his name.  He looks all snappy in his creased white shirt with the brass buttons, sporting a hat that bears the “Metra” rail logo.  A jangle of keys and the squawk of his radio define the man I’ve tried to get know a bit more than just “that conductor on the train.” I greet Mike by name—and he knows mine as well.  Lost in thought, I stumble a moment when he asks how I’ve been doing.  The delay is just long enough that the conductor does the talking for me. …

Choking smoke, a shattered canopy and the eerie sound of wind against wings: pilot David Thomas Dinan was in trouble.  A Soviet MiG fighter had shredded his F-105 fighter over the jungles of Laos. When not riddled with bullets, an F-105—heavily used during the Vietnam War—could fly at Mach 2 and carry sixteen 750 pound bombs. As the swept wing jet pancaked out of control there was no question it was time to bail. By all accounts, David T. Dinan successfully ejected from his aircraft.  Yet he died upon landing and his body was not recovered. Leyland Sorensen, who served…