Category: Reflections
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Belly Flops and Life Lessons: A Cruise Experience
A chaotic belly-flop contest, a waterlogged iPhone, and a sobering bike tour through Jamaica—life on a massive cruise ship is a wild mix of high-energy absurdity and unexpected solace. In this reflective essay, an author explores the strange dichotomies of floating resort life, discovering that the real treasure of an adventure lies in the quiet,…
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Intermittent Light
In a world that demands constant, blinding clarity, what do we find in the flickers? Intermittent Light explores the beauty, discomfort, and quiet revelations hidden within life’s most unpredictable moments.
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Thomas Kinkade: Miraculous Journey in 1988
In “A Village Christmas,” artist Thomas Kinkade shares a personal narrative alongside his enchanting holiday-themed artwork. The book illustrates idyllic winter scenes filled with glowing homes and bustling streets. Kinkade recounts pivotal miracles from 1988, including the birth of his daughter and his breakthrough art show. He reflects on his relationship with mentor Glenn Wessels,…
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Kauffman Lake in Champaign on a Sweltering Summer Night
Some might think Kauffman Lake has an unkept look, but it would be hard to keep up with such a natural, earthy place. There’s food spilled on the bench I was sitting at as bugs attack the goo.
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An Ode to a Wintertime Classic, ‘A Winter’s Solstice II’
“A Winter’s Solstice II” is a classic album from 1988 that magically captures winter’s melancholic tendencies but also has a spirit-lifting effect.
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Good Old Chicago: A Q&A with Photographer and Nurse Practitioner Sam Logan
Photographer and nurse practitioner Sam Logan talks about his inspiration for his publication “Old Chicago: Street Portraits of Older People,” and reveals his on-the-job observations in the health care field.
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Guest Blogger Kassie Nudo: Memories of the 1950s
This write-up was done by my mom, Kassie Nudo, back in 2016. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2011 and often talked about her parents and family and the farm she grew up on as a young girl. Something told me to have her write down these thoughts, while she was still capable of…
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Tearjerker of a Book Reveals What Perfect Truly Means
My mom has always been a big reader. And even though she’s experiencing the long, slow slide of a deteriorating brain, I like to bring her books when I visit her at the memory care facility where she lives. Mom still gets absorbed in books despite her condition; for a long time, I’ve seen with…
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Paper Power: How Lists and Homework Can Spark Laughs and Fond Memories
Bill Keaggy likes his grocery lists, and I like old scratch paper. See how the two intermix in “Paper Power: How Lists and Homework Can Spark Humor and Memories.”
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The Basics and Dignity of Journalism: A Reflection on Rich Martin
In an age when journalism can often be agenda- and clickbait-driven, locally depleted, and, sadly, carelessly covered or just plain fake, it is informative and refreshing to come back to the first-edition book by Rich Martin titled Living Journalism: Principles & Practices for an Essential Profession, which I read early on in graduate school.