Backstory   I heard this advice on the radio and disagreed.  I doubt the guy at the microphone heard me shouting at him in my car.  So I decided to put my concerns out to you.  Listen to the advice he gave to single parents and see if you agree. Let me know. Click to listen […]

When I taught leadership, I always advised the boss to look inward first, when something went wrong. Today, the norm seems to be to blame first.  Are you part of the blame game?  Or have you found a better way to play?

Backstory   I was in the middle of my daily prayers of thanks.  It occurred to me how long it had been since my prayers had asked for anything.  I remembered youthful, frantic prayers of request.  When had that changed?  Perhaps when life proved that unanswered prayers can have the biggest blessing of all.  See what […]

Backstory   Some of the stories you hear on Consider This are written by someone else.  Mason Jars by Amy was featured recently and had a tremendous response from listeners and readers.  This week, we feature another piece by a listener.  I wonder if Suzanne will remember this poem, written decades ago.  Listen in. Click to […]

Backstory   I longed for a do-over.  If only I could be given one more chance to make it right, I would do things so differently.  But that privilege was denied.  I was stuck with the action I had taken. No do-over.  Never.  It made me think of the times when you just don’t get a […]

Backstory   I had just concluded another shouting match with my computer, one sided though it was, over whether my password was correct.  Surely my steel-trap mind was more accurate than this arrogant pile of desktop technology.    Well, I guess not.  So I forgot that dot in the middle, or the exclamation point looked like […]

Backstory   I was so impressed when I met this young lady.  She had started a program for teens to mentor younger children and she was at the Rotary Club meeting to tell us about it.  So poised, so self confident.  We stayed and talked, after the meeting.  I decided to introduce her to you. Click […]

Backstory   It didn’t happen just like that.  There was a lot leading up to it.  Joan had been in the presence of my fiancé and me for years – on vacations, on outings and at home.  She was a careful observer.  Now, it turns out, she was about to become a tentative adviser as well. […]

Backstory   We had driven from our country home in the Shenandoah Valley into Northern Virginia, on our way to a day in Washington, DC.  We had been stuck in traffic that filled every lane of the quadrupled highway. There was no escape.  We wondered aloud how people can do this every day, commuting to work.  […]

Backstory   What is life all about?  Writing the Consider This shows, I think about that.  I watch out for what others are saying; sometimes the sages, sometimes wise old folks, sometimes innocent youngsters.   One of my favorite musers of life is poet and memoirist Maya Angelou.  You will find her quoted in this week’s story. […]