Listen up, children of mine and remember this number: Twenty-one. That’s how old your dad was when he embarked on an intense three-day assignment followed by eight years of sworn secrecy. Who knew?
Author Archives: cjim73
One Team, 33 International Players and a World of Growth
From Norway to Ecuador and Spain to Zimbabwe, more than 30 players have crossed to globe to suit up for soccer in Greenville, Illinois.
Unplugged
The young family had moved to a town in a river valley that prevented clear TV reception without cable. Cable, it turned out, was pricey. To live within their modest means, they pulled the plug. They kept the TV appliance for occasional use with a video player, but kissed network programming and 24/7 broadcasting good-bye.Continue reading “Unplugged”
Olympians and the man who upped their game
However they get their heads in the game, many of today’s Olympic athletes manage the stress of performance thanks to the pioneering work of Greenville University alumnus Coleman Griffith (Class of 1915) a.k.a. “the father of sport psychology.”
A gift for you from an unlikely source
If you want to believe that goodness and grace can triumph over darkness, then here’s a tale for you.
Simply better: Tips to improve appeal letters
Who’s the hero in your appeal letter? Why does ”I’m thrilled to tell you” trump “We’re thrilled to tell you?” Why should you consider using words like ”today” and ”right now” in with your ”ask?” Use these tips in your next fundraising letter.
Rudely interrupted by a tomato worm
“Why are you always doing dishes,” my granddaughter asks. Because they’re there. Because if I don’t, who will? Because I was blessed with the responsibility gene? Because by now–decades into my dish washing career–it’s pretty much a knee-jerk response. Because warm soapy water comforts. Because doing dishes clears a space for “what’s next.” Because momentsContinue reading “Rudely interrupted by a tomato worm”
The Porch
If any part of the house had a right to cry, “Me, me, fix me,” it was the porch . . . But the comfortable little maple porch rocker with its rush-woven seat and gently curved ladder back, proved a faithful friend.
Amnesty
“We will not forget,” said the president. “We will not forgive.” Words matter.
Onstage: Judy, Hoover, and me
Each Sunday night in 1963, when Judy Garland sang to a live TV audience, she sang to me, too, just a kid in my pajamas taking in one last TV show before bedtime. Week after week, I watched her nod and blink and run her fingers wildly through her hair. She’d wind the microphone cordContinue reading “Onstage: Judy, Hoover, and me”
Morris Sampler 