Author Archives: P. F. Kapela

Now that all of us have been “in place” for this extended time, we have all been and have rubbed people the wrong way. An aunt of mine once said that “relatives who stay more than three days with you become like cheese —they stink!” While graphic as this adage may be, some or much […]

When we hear the phrase “first responders,” of whom do we first think? Police, paramedics, firefighters, to be sure, come to mind. These persons highlight many a news cast. However, the first responders are the parents “in place” who cook, clean, cuddle, and care for their kids. In the prayer over the parents in the […]

Saturday morning involved assembling a lamp that had arrived in a box in pieces! This scenario tickles the memory of many an adult who put together a Christmas gift the night before. A bike actually worked and did not turn out to be a unicycle. Back to the lamp assembly, a three hour estimate of […]

Friday previously would typically mark the end of week in schools and workplaces. In schools where I would substitute teach, Friday offered many opportunities because staff longed for and arranged for three way weekends. In workplaces staff would countdown the time until… However in our current situation Friday has the sense of being “just another […]

Next week, next month, next year I would want to… Let’s complete that phrase. By this time let’s admit that we want, and even need to… Mother’s Day, Fourth of July, vacations, baseball games, barbecues — to mention just a few. Boundaries and borders now form these decisions, more than previously — six feet apart […]

While getting the Walmart grocery order earlier today, Carol and I talked about getting various items which we would need in the coming days and weeks. We were “preparing.” In my youth the Boy Scouts prepared and trained us to be prepared, to be alert! In 1907, Baden-Powell, an English soldier, devised the Scout motto: Be […]

Always ready! Being prepared sets up for success. Growing up in the Midwest, my dad taught us to have a bag of either sand and/or cat litter in the trunk to get ready for ice and snow. Also, a blanket and some food! I would submit and suggest that this applies to our current situation […]

Our church is using a book “The Land Between” as the format for a sermon series and small discussions. “Being between” both expresses and challenges us to go “from” the past and go “to” the future. For a real and scary connection is seen in the “flyer” or “trapeze artist” who must let go of […]

I am getting “cabin fever” and wanting to do something else. The following from James Lee Burke in Creole Belle provide both context and wisdom. “My experience has been that when people are frightened and do not understand the historical changes taking place around them, they seek magic and power to solve their problems.” “Every […]

In this current time of “staying in place, there is the joy of holding hands with those with whom we are “in place,’ such is the case of Carol and me. Then there is pain of not touching others such as hugging grand kids. Yet, now I find my hands also reaching out to others […]