So much of life seems to be about “seeing.” What constitutes the contents of our vision? The images that come before our eyes we many times take for “truth” without any consideration that what it is that we are “seeing” is already set within an environment set by personal, cultural and historical elements that “identify” and name these images along prescribed lines of familiarity.…

Like many, hopefully, I spent this past Easter Sunday with family and friends, celebrating with laughter (and some tears) our lives, the lives of loved ones and story-telling about past events.  The “newness” of Easter draped across the new spring’s landscape always has the possibility to give fresh hope and enthusiasm to perhaps worn perspectives and patterns. …

“Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad” is a quote that has been attributed to Euripides, Seneca, as well as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, with some nuancing in each version.  The image is searing by all accounts.  There is the theme of destruction by gods and the implication that the destruction is accomplished primarily by driving those destroyed into madness. …

I have vivid memories as a child of our family boating excursions on the Amite River.  Water-skiing was one of our favorite outings during the Spring and Summer months, and into the fall and winter given Louisiana’s climate.  After learning how to get up on two water skis, I distinctly remember my Mom telling me that I could not get back into the boat until I learned to get up on one ski. …

Imagine yourself in a restaurant.  It’s quite busy, you’ve just been seated and you become aware of the other tables around you.  There is a diversity of conversations going on.  Some people are laughing, others seem to be arguing.  Then there’s the “planning” table where perhaps the wife is telling the husband the schedule for the rest of the day or perhaps the whole week. …