Writing is too easy for us narcissists. There is the delusion that others care, and worse, care about you—unless none of it is about you, because all of life has been given to you. Being more than three-score years old, husband, father, architect, football player, coach and one of those the dreaded “cradle” Episcopalians, what I offer is fraught with the impossibilities of living up to those gifts. So I write about what is irreconcilable other than through God’s love and grace that passes all understanding. And I steal really good phrases. Often.
About Duo Dickinson
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“Escape from Circumstances”: Dickinson in Quarantine
For Death – or rather For the Things ’twould buy – This – put away Life’s Opportunity – The Things that Death will buy Are Room – Escape from Circumstances – And a Name – With Gifts of Life How Death’s Gifts may compare – We know not – For the Rates – lie Here […]
Departed to the Judgment: A Life Between Two Worlds
Are we in purgatory? The screaming sea of media and humans and texts and creations are overwhelming until they are not. And then, sometimes, you find yourself alone, but not alone. The noise is gone, but you are fully engaged in it. In a car, in bed, in the dark, in silence, these things simply […]
Waiting for the Hammer to Fall in Lent
If you care about Lent, this is a time of dread. No booze or no dessert or no social media. No fun. My own take is that Lent helps us understand Good Friday, which, to me, makes death exquisitely real. An easier way would have been a heavenly rapture of Our Lord and Savior: Divine […]
In The Arena: On Best Efforts and Certain Failures
It is the season where an entire nation seems to be made of “fans.” National college and professional games, players and primetime television are simply overwhelming in our popular culture, whether you enjoy football or not. But all things devotional, especially those that command our lives in youth, etch who we are in our devotion. […]
Christmas Triggers
In 1965 I was 10 years old. In full retreat from a mid-century family, I was a complete Peanuts fan boy. I had every (every) one of the bound compendiums, all the way back to the very first strip—started before I was born—plus bobblehead dolls, books on Charles Schulz (the cartoonist), and a poster or […]
Connection
For 30 years, I have designed places for people to live when they are at the edge of coping. When creating anything, knowing those who will use the creation makes the creation better. This year, I have been part of an effort to make a safe harbor for the young who are lost. Listening to […]
Shaping the Future
The following was originally delivered as a keynote at the 149th Annual Episcopal Diocesan Convention in Harrisburg, PA. SHAPE is a verb and a noun. I shape buildings every day. So I verb-shape to make noun-shapes. I am a Christian, too. Over the last 40 years, I have designed and worked on worship spaces. But […]
“Ad Astra” and Dad
Usually I disdain movies. But aesthetics can seduce, and I am a sucker for dystopia, and, well, last night I was beat. So we went to see “Ad Astra.” I had heard of the sublime art direction and the contrast between the full-on space travel and the intimate subplot of the father/son relationship. You may […]
Out of Luck
Andrew Luck has a tough name. It can be used, misused, appropriated to make a point at his expense. And he has a second flaw that we all have: being human. And the human Andrew Luck cannot play football any more: “I know that I am unable to pour my heart and soul into this […]
I Am Only as Happy as My Childhood Allows Me to Be
The 21st century has been a time of revelation. The buried reality of abuse is now being unearthed in our culture and through our laws. Child abuse by the Boy Scouts or any number of church organizations is increasingly acknowledged as the hideous outrage it is. #MeToo has exploded the wall of acceptance of disgusting […]
When Football Is Over, It Begins
Last week my 27-year-old son said, to no one in particular, “Nine days until camp.” I knew he meant training camp for many football players. He was once 290 pounds, a First-Team All-Conference Offensive Guard at a Division III college. He is now 205 pounds and runs marathons and Tough Mudders, and may yet do […]
For the Love of Money: The Metronome to Human Life
Money money money money, money Money money money money, money Money money money money, money Money money money money, money Money money money money, money Money money money money, money Some people got to have it, yeah, some people really need it Listen to me y’all, do things, do things, do things, bad things with […]
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