Author Archives: cjim73

What’s Kubota got to do with it?

Well, just about everything. Whenever I pass a Kubota tractor dealership, I think of my dad. He never owned a Kubota. Kubota was just one detail from a greater conversation we shared on a pleasant day at a tractor show during the last year of his life. At 88, he possessed a sharp mind andContinue reading “What’s Kubota got to do with it?”

A revolutionary upbringing

Enoch Poon’s childhood and youth sound like the story line of a Hollywood script: political drama, family separation, dire circumstances, a wealthy benefactor and then a new life in a distant land. Still, Poon, the president of Innovative International LLC, does not dwell on the hardships. He counts his blessings and points to God’s goodness.

Building more than shelters: The community that welcomes homeless guests

The city? Salem, Oregon. The focus? Lately, helping homeless persons move into safer and healthier situations. The vision? When Salem’s most marginalized and vulnerable residents do well, Salem does well.

Manna in the morning . . . does this happen to you?

The magazine I’m working on now is my 30th. That’s 30 production cycles of challenges, frustrations, creativity on a deadline, fear of writer’s block, fear that people won’t respond to emails, fear that ideas won’t pan out, fear that the photo resolution simply won’t suffice for print; fear that plan C will crumple too, justContinue reading “Manna in the morning . . . does this happen to you?”