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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Clinging to the Ring
On the way to Kansas, Teckla and I had one terrible night in a motel. We were exhausted and had driven many hot, sweaty miles without air-conditioning. The fan had gone out just as we got to Diamond Lake and … Continue reading
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Leaving Oregon
Teckla and I are leaving Oregon. It is not the first time. In 1980 we moved to Olathe, Kansas where I had been offered a teaching position. Although we had been living in Pullman, Washington since 1978, we still spent … Continue reading
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On Eating Small Children
Our desire to eat children is certainly a human oddity. It is commonly discovered in big bosomed aunts who see a baby or toddler and declare, “I could just gobble you up!” Fortunately, such declarations are usually only followed by … Continue reading
Grieving with Ari
I dreaded telling Ari that Pharaoh was gone. He knew we had been trying to find someone to adopt Pharaoh, but Ari did not know the lady was coming Tuesday afternoon. Ari had lost so much this last year. His … Continue reading
School Goes to Heaven
One of the delights of these last two years has been picking Ari up after school. All the early grades, pre-K through first grade gather at the little gym in Myrtle Crest. Waiting parents gather outside the doors in a … Continue reading
An Experiment
What I don’t know about WordPress could fill a black hole.
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Will You Not Come Down?
These are Gandalf’s words to Saruman in Tolkien’s The Two Towers. Saruman, once Saruman the White, had allowed a lust for power and greatness to corrupt him. But in this scene he stands in the window of his tower surrounded … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Tolkien, Uncategorized
Tagged Gandalf, Hobbit humility, Pride, Saruman
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Why I Don’t Write About Teckla
Teckla has pointed out that she is seldom the subject of my blogs. It is true. Teckla, and our marriage are hard for me to write about. Here are a few reasons. First, our lives and hearts are so intertwined … Continue reading
Loving Smeagol–and Addicts
Odd, as it may seem, reading J. R. R. Tolkien has helped me love meth addicts—of which there are many in Myrtle Point. Tom Shippey’s book, J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, argues that Tolkien’s Lord of the … Continue reading
Posted in On Faith, Tolkien, Uncategorized
Tagged Addiction, Gollum, Smeagol, Tolkien, Tweakers
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Kingly Gifts
Re-reading The Lord of the Rings while going through the darkest year of my life has led me to think about the kingly gifts that have sustained me. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is in many ways a story … Continue reading