Language can be complicated. Words that seemed appropriate when I was young are now considered politically incorrect. Word meanings change, and, like it or not, we sometimes need to purge our vocabulary to reflect those changes. Denotation is the dictionary definition of a world. If you look up elderly in
Author: debric5
(The story of guitarist Yang Han originally appeared in Common Ground Magazine.) In our busy culture and high-energy jobs, we sometimes serve too long beside and around people before we allow them to expand our worlds just a little bit. From late August 2016 to early May 2017, I exchanged
Time for a pop quiz on oldies music. I can’t help it. I’m a teacher. Everything comes in the form of a quiz. There are three ways to take this quiz. 1) Answer the questions and then research the answers for yourself. That’s the hard way. 2) Reply to this
Time for a pop quiz! Maybe I’ve spent too many years as a teacher, but I can’t help turning facts into an exam. Maybe it’s because creating tests and quizzes helps me remember a few things I used to know. Either way, take a quiz. It’s exercise for your mind.
House on the Highway was published in the 2017 summer issue of Common Ground Magazine. When I was four years old, I lived with my mom, dad, and brother in an old rented farmhouse. A Big Dream I have small fragments of memory from my first home,
Is it time to set a new goal? C. S. Lewis said, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” I can’t face January without considering my goals for the coming year. Am I the only one who spends the first or last
Growing older means rolling slowly out of a parked car, joints that sound like packing bubbles when you bend and stretch, and forgetting why you’re standing in the middle of the bathroom holding a yardstick. But not everything about passing the summer season of life is unpleasant. Sometimes there are
As our parents grow older, they may need help with daily living tasks like making meals, running errands and shopping, cleaning and laundry, and getting to appointments. The challenge of taking the right meds every day can be a struggle even for those in mid-life. I used to think housing
I’m making a joyful noise – Why is no one glad? Christmas may be over at your house, but it’s still playing in the background at mine. The Christmas music comes out on November 1 and may not go back into hibernation until the end of January. There are simply
2024 Christmas Tree Poem Time moves on, Like the rushing traffic Flying by at breakneck speeds, Needing to be somewhere five minutes ago. Not so for me. I’m slowing down, wanting rest, The end of a season. We’ve both grown smaller over the years. Gravity pulls me down. Low in