Dandelion Tea

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

How to Swim from Michigan to France

When I was a child I could have swum across Lake Huron all the way to France. Don't bother me with geography, my sister assured me she could see it. In my twenties I visited Bourg-Saint-Andéol. The cool breeze made it feel like Michigan. Turns out, we are at about the same latitude.

This is also where the Soviets were going to land with their parachutes at any minute. The things they told us in the 1970's. The Ice Age was upon us. We would live on the moon in the year 2000. Cars would fly. We'd have scanners at the grocery store that would know how much each item...wait a second.

We drank sugar. We sat too close to the TV, but not as close as you are to your phone. We ate hot dogs straight out of the refridgerator! Milk was 5 cents at school, 6 if you wanted chocolate. There is no cents symbol on my keyboard. We had roller rinks. I am not even going to define that. If you know, you know.

I had a tiny red Bible given to me at school. The Gideons handed them out.

I wonder if they still do that.

Monday, October 20, 2025

A Little Reminiscing

Park 1 and Park 2 were joined by this simple wooden bridge in my day. Now it is one big park and no one seems to remember it was once different worlds. The gully between them was deep. It's full of poison ivy now. There are warnings posted. It may have been then too. I seemed to catch it most summers.

Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock beamed down here often. This planet is just like Earth. If we had friends over we'd have Sulu and the Russian guy too. Sleestaks chased us, though they were from another show. I spelled Sleestak right without even looking.

Now our whole world is like this big ditch.

One side, and another, needing someone to beam down and put things right.

Saturday, October 11, 2025

Jesus said the Shema

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.

Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him,

“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this:

‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

(Mark 12:28-31, New Testament)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

(Deuteronomy 6:4-8)

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Ice Cream Socials

Do you remember the ways of the past? Nowhere was heard a discouraging word. That could be read now here was heard a discouraging word. Space makes a difference. Remember when we went to ice cream socials? I don't. I have never, ever been to one, but I do recall the innocence of years gone by. Everyone meant well. We were well. There was no high fructose corn syrup and no war. Well, there was war. Do I see those days the way they were or the way I was? Today's world seems darker and when Jesus appears in the sky I won't even be surprised. Now here this. Now hear this.

I haven't posted my own words in a long time. I have given you songs I love and the words of life, Bible verses, as they come to me. What stories would I tell anymore? Tales of spies who save the world? All their conniving hasn't saved us yet. One country is up, then another is down, then up again. On and on the brotherhood of man wastes our time here. We have one God. No other. We have one purpose. No other. Meet me at the sunrise where we will stand shoulder to shoulder and watch the sky and pray for God's mercy.