Jesus said, “Let the children come unto me and do not hinder them for such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Elsewhere he said, “If you would see God’s Kingdom you must humble yourself and become as a child.” Regarding these passages, I recently began to wonder if among the children we must not hinder are […]

I first encountered the poem below, by Bob Hicok, in an issue of Poets & Writers magazine and was absolutely throttled. He inspired me for a season to write, write, and write. I am absolutely envious of his voice and talent, and I admire his down to earth attitude about writing. This quote gives a […]

I recently finished “A Band of Brothers”, a dramatic mini-series about the history of Easy Company, a company within the newly created airborne division of the Army that fought in World War II. While watching it I was riveted, and though I have finished it I continue to be haunted. Perhaps a part of my […]

I translated the following poem for my Translation of Chilean and Spanish Poetry class. It is by Homero Aridjis, a poet and journalist who abides in Mexico. The process of translating is one frought with many challenges, a reality that is manifold for poetry. I am in debt to the professor for certain aspects of […]

The following are two great lines that I heard over the air-waves this week. The first comes from the “The Gilmore Girls” which is a show that has a semi-northernexposure quirkiness about it and which revolves around a relationship between a mother and daughter. In this scene Lorelai (the Mother) is allowing her friend Sookie […]

“Why can’t you drive to church like you’re going to the movies!!?” stated my beloved, but mildly irritated wife as I crawled down the road at four miles an hour below the speed limit. “What do you mean?!?” I responded somewhat defensively, to which she replied, “When you go to the movies you pay attention […]

I realize that this sounds naïve in our postmodern world, but I believe in the pursuit of truth with a capital “T”. I think I have a pretty decent grasp of the epistemological and linguistic problems that humanity faces in this pursuit, but nevertheless I think we must not abandon this enterprise. As I see […]

Our young protagonist waited for a pause in the discussion. The class had been discussing the nature of reality and perception, particularly as this issue was addressed by a novel they had all been reading. The pause came and our protagonist spoke, “I don’t think everyone’ thoughts are valid or of equal value.” The whole […]

The following parable was written by Franz Kafka, and it has inspired numerous interpretations. So, read it and tell me what you think it means. Before the law sits a gatekeeper. To this gatekeeper comes a man from the country who asks to gain entry into the law. But the gatekeeper says that he cannot […]

As I am sure many astute people have already pointed out, there is an irony at work in Bush’s actions, and we Americans seem all to willing to go along with it.