Our leadership team walked through the campus singing Christmas carols. We came to the dining room for folks who needed a great deal of assistance with daily living – many suffered from varying degrees of memory loss. Ina sat in the back of the room. Ina’s husband, a Pastor, had died quite a few years
A reflection with Ric story about an unforgettable change agent. Who Knows My Name? “This is my third time here. Does anybody know my name? Does anybody really care?” Leo asked. Several of us attended that Wednesday evening college and career Bible study and prayer meeting when he asked this question. Leo had served as
Everything changed the moment Doug walked into the adult day care center where my wife volunteered. He had worked in management until his late fifties until he suffered a stroke. Now he could no longer work, and his every day speaking skills were limited. But the new realities from the stroke did not limit Doug
I Can Only Hear You “Ric – you’re playing too loud. I can only hear you.” I had not played in a band since my sophomore year of high school. It was with “fear and trepidation” and with a lot of encouragement from a good friend of mine who was playing in the band that
Image of Mt Baker, Bellingham, Bellingham Bay | 1959 Oregon's Magazine (1859oregonmagazine.com) “Son, this makes no sense. We cannot move to Washington State. Nebraska is already a long way from Minnesota, Chicago and the lake home in Stoughton, Wisconsin. A move to Washington State is out of the question.” As Dad talked, the memory of
“I can’t wait to see Pansy,” my Mother said right after we exchanged hellos. Moments earlier, as I dialed the phone that early May evening, I had dreaded talking with Mother. Her opening comment caught me off guard. Mom had breast cancer surgery nearly six years earlier and had been cancer-free ever since. Then during
“Would it be ok with you if we took your Dad to a Twin’s game tomorrow afternoon?” I couldn’t believe what I just heard. Dad had been a Twin’s fan from the first day in 1961 that the franchise moved to Minnesota from Washington D.C. Dad had never been to a Twin’s game during all
It was a frequent part of my Grandfather’s (Axel A. Olson) evening prayer as we finished yet another workday. It seemed so different from seeing him in action throughout the day as I worked for him during the summer prior to the start of my Freshman year at Bethel College (now called Bethel University).
“They told me I can’t sing at the pool!!” Mark said, confused and a bit exasperated. The comment caught Dave, Forrey and me off guard. “Why don’t you ask the lifeguard if you can sing?” we suggested. Mark, 15, who was born with Downs Syndrome, immediately left our table next to the pool and walked
It startled me to hear my son spontaneously singing Happy Birthday to Harry. Harry, a senior living community resident, was attending a reception with a group of high school students. The students had just concluded a musical program at the residence. Someone had informed my son that Harry had a birthday that same day. At
