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There are many signs of my slow decent into the word I HATE— Senior Citizen. My first wake-up call came when AARP sent me a notice that I was able to achieve Membership Status… Oh boy. Yep, I am a member. Next was my willingness to order off the Senior Menu, which was soon followed by asking for Senior Discounts. Soon I hit 65 and of course the Medicare was gleefully welcomed, as was the monthly Social Security payment. All the while, I was mostly in denial that I was among the millions of aging Americans.One of the blessings and…

I have a ritual that feeds my soul most every Friday. It begins with coffee with some peeps, then a drive to Cherry Creek State Park. There I get to watch and experience the very subtle changes that seasons and weather bring. I keep track of the huge variety of wildlife found right in the middle of the urban complex. Once a four point Mule deer walked right up to my parked car. Various birds of prey put on an aerial demonstration as they catch mice, snakes, rabbits and prairie dogs. I listen for the return of the Meadow Larks…

Tomorrow at the First Christian Church of Greeley we have our annual Easter Egg Hunt. We will have a few dozen “hunters” who will show up with their baskets, sacks etc. There will be a few kids in their Easter Best but the rest come dressed for combat. The whole event takes about four minutes. I always find myself trying to coach the less aggressive kids to the eggs that I have spotted, yet to be grabbed. Invariably, witnessing this event takes me back to the “Egg Hunts” of my childhood.There were two Pumphrey families in Pueblo. There were the…

When I was not quite four years old, my parents bought one of those great swing sets that have two swings, a teter-totter, a slide, and a ladder. My parents decided that the ladder was “too dangerous” so it was put in the garage. On my own I decided to retrieve the ladder and place it on the side of the house, on the back patio. Long story short— I climbed up the ladder only to have it slide down the wall of the house with my wrists under a rung. Yes, I broke both of my arms. So much…

The other day as I was driving by the park in my neighborhood, I watched three kids about 10 years old or so launch a kite. In my growing up life, the month of March was ‘kite month’. For .25 you could buy a High Flyer kite which featured a variety of figures on it, and a paper skin that was stretched over the wooden support sticks. The “Man in the Moon” kite came in three colors if I remember—red, yellow, and blue. My preference was blue. A walk to Duckwalls “Five n’ Dime” could supply you with a kite,…

So I took a week off as last weekend involved a three day round-trip to Oklahoma. I am here to report that the world is flat. Well at least it is for hundreds of miles east of here. I am a big fan of the road trip. This was a solo journey. Just me and my Sirius Radio. I had a lot to think about in those 10 hours of wind turbines, wide open space, and rest areas. We had just spent a week with our daughter Steph, and almost-three-year old Sofia, who I wrote about last week. Here is…

I have been blessed with ‘book-end’ grand kids. Zach, who was born on “Leap Day” 30 years ago, will celebrate his birthday with us Monday. His actual birthday will take place in that nano second on Midnight of Feb 28th. He was followed by seven other grandkids, the last of whom is Sofia who will be three this May. Sofia came today from California to spend a week in Colorado. Just a few minutes ago she put on her snow suit and went out to her first encounter with snow. Grandma packed her in the snow suit and she reminded…

Well, we have zipped through February with relative ease. Perhaps it was the Olympics or the Super Bowl planted nearly halfway through, but it seems that this month has an economy of time that appeals to me. I love the fact that it is most often only four exact weeks long. When we hit March its like a giant do-over with three extra days. I was pondering what it would be like to have all 28 day months. They would each start on Monday and that, way for this preacher, the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th would always be on…

Last evening I stepped outside to check out that perfect snow. A ‘perfect snow’ means there is no wind, the flakes drift ever so slowly to the earth and peace fills my heart. On my sleeve I looked down to see the miracle frozen water crystals that make up a snowflake. They did not immediately melt, but displayed themselves to me as if it were my own private jewel collection.I was soon transported to the bike rack at Ben Franklin Elementary. It was 1958 and I was in the third grade. It was February and the snow was falling just…

In the first month of our ‘in-person’ worship with mask wearing, one of my very thoughtful members gave me a gift. It was a “liturgical mask”, which was bright red, and in the center the Chalice logo. I knew I was extra cool when, at a press conference, the Governor of Kentucky was sporting the same mask. Then one day over a year ago, I lost the mask. I kept thinking “It will show up”. Finally I turned it over to St. Jude (the saint of lost causes). Occasionally, I borrow stuff from MK’s Catholic pedigree. I guessed it had…