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Empathy: Does anybody have it anymore or is it gone from humanity?
Bird Droppings January 10, 2026Empathy: Does anybody have it anymore or is it gone from humanity? Sixteen years ago, I was sitting in my room in Statesboro, back to school for my doctorate. It was a June morning, and I was wide awake, pondering. “It is still dark in Statesboro, Georgia, as I sit here…
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A long drive, pondering solitude
Bird Droppings January 9, 2026A long drive, pondering solitude It has been some time since I set down and wrote a totally original dropping. Three of my grandchildren spend the night, as they tend to do on Thursdays, we have supper, play around, and they sleep over. I am always getting late to my sunrise…
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Looking in a different direction to start the morning
Bird Droppings January 8, 2025Looking in a different direction to start the morning “Beginnings start in the east – from where the sun rises, we begin a new dawn. Each day is a good new day with a fresh beginning, a new start. East is the direction of the physical body and newness, including children…
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Can we define our success, or does it take another?
Bird Droppings January 7, 2025Can we define our success, or does it take another? Recently, teachable moments have been rare, as I have been very monastic between retirement, grandchildren, and cautious awareness. Yesterday, while grocery shopping, I ran into a former student of sorts. I think she was in a class with me when I…
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The symbolism of the Totem Pole
Bird Droppings January 6, 2025 The symbolism of the Totem Pole Growing up in my family, my father had made numerous totem poles in our backyards over the years. Each was painted with images of creatures. Eagles, bears, and wolves adorned the totem poles. The last one was torn down or fell only a few…
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Passion for learning: Can it be rekindled?
Bird Droppings January 5, 2025Passion for learning: Can it be rekindled? April 4, 1968, I was a freshman at West Chester State, now University. I was not seriously politically active, and I would say naïve. I do recall the news stories and the tension that followed. I grew up in a town where the people…
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All in words: we find them, how we use them, and perhaps others’ perceptions.
Bird Droppings January 3, 2025 All in words: we find them, how we use them, and perhaps others’ perceptions. “The farmer channels water to his land. The fletcher whittles his arrows. And the carpenter turns his wood. So, the wise direct their mind.” Dhammapada Many years ago, there was a folk song entitled “If I…
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LIFE and FINALITY, two words that, as we get older, seem to be a part of our daily process.
Bird Droppings January 1, 2025LIFE and FINALITY, two words that, as we get older, seem to be a part of our daily process. Morning has been a special time for me each day, a new beginning. Several aspects make it special; the first one is taking pictures of sunrises. Then I ran some errands, started…
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Pondering and wondering are such powerful tools.
Bird Droppings December 30, 2025 Pondering and wondering are such powerful tools. Several years back, we started a school-wide vocabulary word of the week. I was reminded of this as I looked through my various files for quotes. About eight years ago, as the day wound down, an email from the head of the English…
The daily meanderings of a teacher 