The life of my mother-in-law, Mum Chamberlain, is now marked in a burial plot near the shade of old trees. Recently it’s been celebrated in various ways. It reminds me of fireworks. Not that “celebration” is a perfect word for these matters. Death can still drag in its bag of
Exploring mysteries on the other side Read More »
She’s the mother of my bride, Mum, or Mum Chamberlain, as I like to call her. I’m at her bedside. The children and my wife, Jean, are on live video from across the ocean, from East Africa. “We love you, Grams!” Jean shares greetings from the team of Save the Mothers, the Ugandan
Honouring the reach and heart of one mother Read More »
Today’s offering is about roots, and where we come from, and these sorts of matters that run under the surface of our lives. My father appreciated roots. And what’s not to appreciate? Roots bring nutrients. They stabilize plants and trees: tap roots for depth, lateral roots to anchor, sinker roots
The roots underneath our lives Read More »
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about running for president of the United States. I told the family. Everyone got quiet and looked at each other. Then my boy said, “You’ve got this, Paps. I’d vote for you.” That’s all I needed to hear. I’m off. I’m running. I know the way. Follow me!
Even the Lord of the Lies has his limits Read More »
It’s April Fools’ Day so let’s talk about fools. And hippies. A fool is someone who can’t reason. The dictionary tells us. A fool is a simpleton. An idiot. We understand the idioms and usage. He made a fool of me. She played the fool. A fool and his money are easily parted.
An old story in modern languages Read More »
A dream is something imagined for the betterment of humanity. “I have a dream,” is what Martin Luther King said 60 years ago in a prophetic speech about justice and racial reconciliation. We remember because, as Solomon put it 3,000 years earlier, “Without a vision the people will
Making sense of the stuff of dreams Read More »
The interesting thing about Elvis is that he crossed borders. With the Oscars approaching – “Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis has eight nominations – it’s something to think about. Not those sorts of borders. And not that I was really around. I was 12 when Elvis died. My mother-in-law
What matters about Elvis’s legacy Read More »
There are 60 stairs to Tante Eva’s third-floor apartment on Friedrichsruher. I reach them after walking from my hotel for 5 km, walking to see this city of my birth, flowers in hand. Earlier, Eva, 91 and living on her own, navigated these stairs, boarded, by herself, a bus, travelled to a
Language lessons (of the heart) in Berlin Read More »
