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I firmly believe that there is a spiritual aspect to teaching.
Bird Droppings November 17, 2025I firmly believe that there is a spiritual aspect to teaching. I just arrived after an hour of driving around, chasing the sunrise. I got home, had some breakfast, and went outside to sit, listen, and photograph birds in my backyard. I periodically checked my Apple watch to see my heart…
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Isn’t friendship a rather simple concept?
Bird Droppings November 16, 2025Isn’t friendship a rather simple concept? Recently, I had the mother of three former students tell me how much her sons and daughter thought of me while I was coming into my favorite store, Kroger. So here I am, sitting upstairs in my writing hovel, pondering in the stillness of early…
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Bird Droppings November 14, 2025Searching for a flower, the butterfly pea (Clitoria marina), in the winter or is it gone now forever Interestingly, I had two thoughts earlier in the morning, when I started the day, that made me think of the butterfly pea. One I heard on the radio was that I was heading…
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Imagination is a key to unlocking a higher level of thought.
Bird Droppings November 13, 2025Imagination is a key to unlocking a higher level of thought. Over the years, I have visited many places and met numerous people. In 1973, I was living in Macon, Georgia, and had the great privilege to meet Bill and Gerald Harjo. Gerald was in school at Mercer University finishing his…
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Amazing how intertwined the strands of life really are
Bird Droppings November 11, 2025Amazing how intertwined the strands of life really are I was asked at dinner one evening when I started teaching, and I responded that I was twelve. The group I was with was thinking I was being my typical sarcastic self. Then I explained that I started teaching swimming to beginners…
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Waiting for a miracle on some occasions can take some time.
Bird Droppings November 10, 2025 Waiting for a miracle on some occasions can take some time. I wrote this piece over twenty years ago, and it remains a cherished part of my heart. Miracle is a word often used by people of faith. It is an explanation for things that happen with no apparent cause…
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Often, we find ourselves in a fog of education.
Bird Droppings November 7, 2025Often, we find ourselves in a fog of education. I was heading to my friend’s Rosary memorial service about seven years ago. I got up a bit later that day and walked a mile in the pool. I tend to meditate and wander in my thoughts, pondering as I might. I…
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A morning meander while the beaver moon is glowing orange.
Bird Droppings November 6, 2025A morning meander while the beaver moon is glowing orange. Last night, as I looked out at the night sky, I honestly was not sure if the moon was glowing or not. I drove over to the reservoir, and the beaver moon was bright orange. However, I started thinking back to…
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Should we be pondering the idea of faith or maybe trust?
Bird Droppings November 3, 2025Should we be pondering the idea of faith or maybe trust? “Modern technology advanced in such tiny increments for so long that we never realized how much our world was being altered, or the ultimate direction of the process. But now the speed of change is accelerating logarithmically. It is apparent…
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Watching a hawk fly by as I drove to Athens and the UGA library
Bird Droppings November 2, 2025 Watching a hawk fly by as I drove to Athens and the UGA library I recall a favorite memory of mine: from five years ago, for the first time in my teaching in public school, nearly twenty years, I was not required to teach to the test, which got me…
The daily meanderings of a teacher 