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Discussing “From Strength to Strength” by Arthur Brooks
A Discussion of Arthur Brooks' Book "From Strength to Strength - helping people find greater happiness as they age and change. Given at Christ Church Episcopal.
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November 25, 2022 – Black Friday – Ten Years Later
Dear James, It is Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Although there are conflicting theories on why this day is called Black Friday, most people do agree that it started in the 1980s when someone decided that this day was the official start of the Christmas shopping season. And because it was such a big shopping day, someone also decided that most merchants do not turn a profit for the year until this day, officially putting them in “the black”, which means making a profit, versus being in “the red”, which means suffering a financial loss. And so, the term “Black Friday” was born. And since then, for some people,…
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November 11, 2022 – Passion and Movies
A letter to James about passion, movies and the Virginia Film Festival.
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Bavaria, Southern Germany – Thursday Sept. 29 to Saturday Oct. 1
This trip was supposed to happen in 2020 when the Hoffmanns had invited us to attend the world renowned Passion Play, which is performed every 10 years, for the 2020 performance. But due to COVID it was postponed to 2022. So, here we are. After driving from Weggis, Switzerland to Oberammergau, Germany on Wednesday, we walked around town in the rain to get our bearings before returning to our hotel and a warm Bavarian meal. Because the entire play is performed in German, we attended a one-hour English introduction the next morning, which was fascinating. I learned that the first play was performed in 1634 and every 10 years after…
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Letter to James, October 2022 – On Serving
Dear James, Your grandmother and I were at the airport in Zurich recently after a two-week trip that included hiking in Scotland, a visit in Switzerland, and spending some time in Bavaria to attend The Passion Play in Oberammergau. And as I sat in the lounge at the Zurich Airport Hilton on the eve before our return to the United States, I slid my right hand into my pocket and felt the Euros I had not spent. So, I thought what should I do with these extra 35 Euros burning a hole in my pocket? But the question quickly faded. But it would return as I watched our server hustling…
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September 23 & 24 – Days 5 and 6 of Hike in Scotland – Mountains and Moors
Days 5 and 6, 19 mile and 9 mile legs respectively, is very remote hiking. This part of the hike offers up close and personal views of the surrounding mountains while walking through beautiful glens and moors. On Day 5 we hike from Tyndrum to Kingshouse, where we stay at the Kingshouse hotel. This will be our longest day. Part of our group could not hike today due to a cold and injuries – Elizabeth (bad cold), Rolf (Achilles) and Mary (foot). Soon after leaving Tyndrum, we skirt the steep sides of Beinn Odhar to the right with the pyramid of Beinn Dorain sitting ahead, a companion all the way across the floor of the beautiful…
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Days 4 and 5 – Hiking along North Loch Lomond and Rivers in Scotland
On the third day of our hike we left Rowardennan and continue north along the remote eastern shore of Loch Lomond for 13 miles to Ardleish, where we take a ferry at the end of the day to Ardlui, which is across the lake on the Western Shore, where we will spend the night and have dinner at the Ardlui Hotel. I want to stress that none of these locations are what I would call villages. They consist of a few houses and a hotel. This section of the hike follows the northern, very remote section of Loch Lomond where the waters plunge to a depth of 620 feet and…
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Days 2 & 3 – Lowlands to Highlands of Scotland – September 19 & 20, 2022
Day 2 – After spending our first day in Scotland in Edinburgh and Glasgow, we started day two on the first leg of our hike on the West Highland Way. We would hike 12 miles from Milngavie – pronounced ‘Mull-guy’ to Drymen. At 8:45 a.m. we left Milngavie and headed north, passing Mugdock Castle before emerging into open countryside, where the Campsie Fells (hills) could be seen in the distance. After passing relatively small Craigallian loch (lake) on the right, we stopped at a small monument along the trail where we took a break. As the Way approached Drymen, we walked through small hills and a small but heavily wooded…
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Scotland/Switzerland/Germany Trip – Day 1, September 18th
Yesterday Elizabeth and I flew from Richmond to JFK before taking an overnight flight to Edinburgh, Scotland. Upon our arrival, we collected our luggage and headed to the center of town to have lunch with Susan and Suthy, who now live near Edinburgh. Susan and Suthy had hosted me and our sons at The New Club in St. Andrews when we attended the British Open during our Great Britain Trip in the summer. So, it was great to see them again so soon. And they had not seen Elizabeth since our hike together in Provence, France in 2017. During lunch Suthy explained to me that the Scots are as divided as Americans are on…
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Buckwheat – 9.10.22
I was home from college for the summer the day I got the call that my cousins had been in a terrible car wreck. Both had been taken to the hospital and were in serious condition with severe spinal injuries. As I processed this, I thought of Buckwheat and the choices he sometimes made. And then I thought of Troy. At thirteen years old, Troy had begun to play in some summer softball tournaments with Buckwheat, who was nineteen. An incredible baseball player, Troy had a promising future. But I sometimes wondered if Troy was spending too much time with Buckwheat. Although I was close to Troy, it was my…
