Tuesday -- I lived in my Vashon island home for about 20 years. And the garden took its time (something about the gardener’s procrastination, just sayin’), which meant that for a few years, behind my house was a large hole.…
Gene Logsdon's father-in-law had tried his hand at making bootleg whiskey on his Kentucky farm. He washed the leftover runny mash down a sinkhole, thereby destroying the evidence. Or so he thought. One evening at milking time, the cows came…
Tuesday -- In the Gospel of John, Jesus encounters a man who has been lying on a mat for 38 years--with a physical disability--waiting to be healed. Jesus asks him a simple question, "Do you want to get well?"So. Let’s…
There are moments in our lives that can change everything. For Chris Orwig, it happened in a tent, at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California. A bachelor party; and he was camping with a group of…
Tuesday -- Every once in a while (and I’m not always sure what triggers it), I give in to my broken places. Meaning I assume that the label of “broken” is the only truth about who I am. And I…
Once upon a time, a little boy loved a stuffed animal whose name was Old Rabbit. It was so old, in fact, that it was really an unstuffed animal; so old that even back then, with the little boy's brain…
Tuesday -- This week, our invitation is from the movie Mao to Mozart.Isaac Stern stops a young student (playing her violin skillfully), and says with his enigmatic smile, "Okay. Now. Sing the beginning to me.""Don't be afraid," Stern says gently.…
Some movies are worth watching again and again. Because they’re good for the heart.In 1979, violinist Isaac Stern visited China. His month-long trip is recorded in the Academy-award-winning documentary, From Mao to Mozart.Stern expresses gratitude to the Chinese people (who…
Tuesday -- This week we’re asking; where do we tether our identity for well-being (in a world where many feel lost or adrift)? Because if we cannot find that place, it is easy to stop playing music. To stop caring.…
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson began her career as an accomplished viola player. While on tour in Europe (in the late 1980s), her viola was stolen. She could have replaced it. As would be imagined, the theft threw her into a state…