Parson to Person

January 20, 2021

“Hard-Scrabble Hope,” Jan. 15, 2021

Since this week’s Northliner is a little longer than usual, I will keep my remarks here brief. We are all aware of the attack on democracy at the U.S. Capitol […]
January 12, 2021

“Lies My Mother Told Me” Jan. 8, 2021

When I was young, my mom would often send my sister Arlene and me out with our little red wagon to pick up loaves of day-old bread at the bakery […]
January 6, 2021

“Winter and Hope” Jan. 1, 2021

I never really knew winter until I moved to Wisconsin. The first year I was here I remember thinking, Gee, it sure gets cold here. Then someone told me gently […]
December 29, 2020

“6 Feet Long and 3 Feet Wide,” Dec. 23, 2020

When you receive this Northliner it will probably be Christmas. I’m not sure how many of you will be reading this today, but in case any of you are, I wrote […]
December 23, 2020

“Santa, Buddy Holly, and the Other Reindeer” Dec 18, 2020

For your holiday-reading pleasure, here are a few “Letters to Santa” that children have actually written–and which probably reveal more than the children intended:    Dear Santa, Please give me […]
December 15, 2020

“Between Halloween and New Year” Dec. 11, 2020

All right, I’ll say it: I love the time of the year between October 31 and January 1. There’s Halloween, with its costumes and let’s-pretend; Day of the Dead, with […]
December 9, 2020

“The Scam” Dec. 4, 2020

I’m told a number of you received an email purportedly from me, with the subject heading “Many Blessings.” (The email used my actual email address but with one letter changed.) […]
December 1, 2020

“A Little More Humor for Hard Times” Nov. 25, 2020

Given that this is the Thanksgiving weekend, I hope you’ll forgive me if I use this column to share a few more messages–with unintended typos and phraseology–that actually appeared in […]
November 24, 2020

“Indonesian Thoughts on Gratitude” Nov. 20, 2020

A couple years ago I had the chance to visit Indonesia with a UU family from my home church in Racine. I have always found that experiencing a different culture […]