Originally published November 2021 in The Tecumseh Herald Inside the Basilica Papale San Paolo fuori le Mura, in English, St. Paul Outside the Walls St. Mark's in Venice, Italy November 2021 The pandemic has created a few new wrinkles in the fabric of travel that impact overseas travel, but these are minor compared to the … Continue reading From 2021: Travel in a time of pandemic chaos
Three weeks ago, I penned a column about ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence app that will help people write all kinds of things, from letters to essays to sermons and much more. As I mentioned, the ChatGPT is convenient and smart and a great way to get information, but it lacks a voice. That's really important … Continue reading CHAT BOTS: Is tech out of control? Part 2
I love dogs. And if social media is any indicator, there are a lot of folks out there who love dogs as much as I do. Is there anyone out there who has not watched cute puppy videos, seen "Space Dogs" or followed someone on Instagram who shares their canine's antics with the world? Now, … Continue reading Dogs, dogs, dogs: Lifetimes of our favorite companions
When I was a kid growing up in Tecumseh with my seven siblings, I remember how hard it was for me to get along with all of my sisters and brothers. I was the eldest of eight and bossy. It had to be my way or the highway and I'm sure my siblings still think … Continue reading Spare: A brave effort
Squibs You could say the writing's on the wall--or at least on the screen--for the arrival of artificial intelligence that could change the way we think about learning. Artificial Intelligence or "AI" refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are designed to think and act like humans. This is according to ChatGPT, … Continue reading ChatGPT: Is AI taking over the world?
The ghost of Christmas past haunts me regularly as the calendar winds down from December 1 to the 25th. Like Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens’ timeless classic, that ghost shows me happy times: family dinners, birthday cakes for Baby Jesus, toys, and a state of sustained chaos starting around 4 o’clock Christmas morning and lasting throughout … Continue reading The Ghosts of Christmas Past
From December 2021 When December rolls around and I'm celebrating the holidays, I always think of my sister, Carol. She died Dec. 19, 2002 at the age of 42 from complications of a rare, hereditary disease. We weren't the closest of sisters, although we were only two years apart. But our circumstances and her disease … Continue reading Remembering Carol Lapham
Acts of Kindness Expand our Capacity to Love Last Sunday, our parish deacon, David Hammer, delivered an excellent homily in which he challenged us to be kind because kindness expands our capacity to love. I found that sentiment to be especially profound because love is the thing from which all else flows. And as we … Continue reading Have courage, be kind
"We Were Soldiers," the 2002 action movie set during the Vietnam War, got some mixed reviews from the critics—however, there’s no escaping the film’s depiction of the sheer brutality of battle, even 20 years after it was released. When it first came out, my husband, Bill, and I went to see it. Bill, a Vietnam … Continue reading We Were Soldiers
Back in June 2004, country star Tim McGraw released "Live Like You Were Dying," which even now causes me to tear up. Over the last 18 years, that piece hasn't lost its power--perhaps because the lyrics rise above standard country fare to the realm of the profound. It begs the question of how one should … Continue reading Live like you were dying
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