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A Forty Year Shop Class Life Lesson
It’s 2024 and that means I graduated from high school forty years ago. This milestone is yet another reminder about the speed of time. I feel nostalgic about my time in high school. I am looking forward to our reunion, though I want everybody to look like they did in 1984. I want the Continue reading
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Freedom from Cages: A Presentation to my Unitarian Universalist Congregation
I am a member of Prairie Circle Unitarian Universalist Congregation (PCUUC) in Grayslake, Illinois. Our church does not have a full time pastor and is mostly run by members. Guest ministers, members, and friends of the congregation deliver sermons. We rent space in a barn and hold on-line services. I had the privilege to speak Continue reading
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JB is Winning. Illinois is Losing. We Need My Modest Proposal.
JB is winning in his quest for national recognition by delaying Illinois’ fiscal reckoning. My Modest Proposal will work great in our single party state. Continue reading
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My Memorial Day “Sermon”: Sacrifice and Citizenship in a Culture of Disconnect
I am a member of Prairie Circle Unitarian Universalist Congregation (PCUUC) in Grayslake, Illinois. Our church does not have a full time pastor and is mostly run by members. Guest ministers, members, and friends of the congregation deliver sermons. We rent space for services in a barn and hold on-line services. I had the privilege Continue reading
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Oh Crap, I AM Privileged
On a Saturday in September, I felt great on my semi-regular weekend bike ride through prairie trails in the northern Chicago suburbs. I enjoy reflecting on life during these rides in nature. It was a beautiful sunny day in the low eighties. I had not exercised on Friday and had gotten a good night sleep. Continue reading
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A Memorial Day Maybe: My Message and Memories During COVID-19
COVID-19 has led to the unfortunate cancellation of sports, graduations, gatherings with family and friends. Another casualty is Memorial Day parades and ceremonies. I will miss Memorial Day events in Grayslake, Illinois. For me Grayslake, founded in 1895, is ‘Hometown USA’. It is a smaller northern suburb of Chicago, once surrounded by farmland. Restaurants and Continue reading
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I Joined a Church and They Let Me Give a Sermon: Identity, Politics and Forgiveness
In 2019, I joined Prairie Circle Unitarian Universalist Congregation (PCUUC) in Grayslake, Illinois. Our church does not have a staff pastor and is mostly run by members. Guest ministers, members and friends of the congregation deliver sermons. We rent space for services in a barn, pictured above. Our theme for November was forgiveness and I Continue reading
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Remembering a Kiss Goodbye on Father’s Day
This is my first Father’s Day without a father. My dad, Gary Smith, died of heart failure at 78 in July 2018. I last saw him in April 2018 in a Portland hospital. The last touch we had was part of a reluctant good-bye was when I kissed him on his forehead after telling him Continue reading
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Why Should Illinois Government Retirees Get Higher Annual Increases Than People with Social Security?
I occasionally see the rallying cry ‘Pensions are a promise!’ But, are generous Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) a promise too? Is it really a good promise that people with state funded pensions should get higher annual raises than people living on Social Security? Is it a true promise that Illinois government retiree COLA can Continue reading
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My Grinchly Heart Grew Three Sizes with the VFW and High School Music
I admit it. I am a Grinch. I do not like Christmas and just like Dr. Seuss’s Grinch my heart grew three sizes this week. While I did not steal any presents or tie antlers to a dog, music and the spirit of Christmas moved me. I was not raised religiously and I am not Continue reading
Why is Thad Glad? 