Propinquity Press

This episode begins the story of the first time the Dunning family left Iowa and how it expanded the author's understanding of the wider world as well as his beliefs around being a perfect human being. Perfection and being OK in this world are not the same thing.

One of the reasons I thought I must be from Mars when I was younger revolved around my struggle with reading. I learned eventually that I had a condition called Dyslexia. This story is about finding a way through this difficulty with the help of many great teachers from Ottumwa Iowa. This is a great listen if you or someone you know is struggling with Dyslexia or other learning difference or just need a little encouragement to believe that the unique person you are is critical to change the world for the better.

The Other Side of Shadows begins with the memory of being part of the "Live Nativity" events in my early childhood and address a key moment when I began to learn how to value both where I had grown up and where I have been able to go in life. No answers are given in this story, just one human's experience of how to find hope and even happiness in both where I have been and the places I was encouraged to experience.

A story about a group of young friends I met when I was seven years old and the way an old building in Ottumwa Iowa (my hometown) along with the people who walked its halls, helped me to know that I had a future story. The most powerful thing we can say to another person is to tell them they have a future.

In a world where it is easy to devalue someone or act as if you certain people are more valuable than others, I share a story about my father's (or really every human being's) desire to be valuable enough to his son to give him something of him/herself. My father loved to build boats but eventually I learned what he was really trying to teach me about how to be the best kind of human.

When I was growing up in my hometown my parents had a unique way of teaching me about the value of taking the time to the learn how other people see the world. It is so easy to idolize our own understanding of NORMAL as this is often what gives us comfort in an uncertain and changing world. However, my parents taught me through a few family fishing trips the importance of taking the time to see the world through another persons experience. This simple skill that my parents taught me seems too rare in our divided world today. If you are willing to take the risk of remembering how to value other peoples, perspectives and cultures take a little time to listen to my latest podcast on Propinquity Press entitled "The Platform People"