Category Archives: Living My Life

Holladay Park Plaza, Year 1

Posted on August 27, 2017 by hessd

A year ago today, Bette and I moved into Holladay Park Plaza and I want to tell you a little about it. For me, there is always the question of what to call today. I have been celebrating the various … Continue reading →

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The Solar Eclipse at Holladay Park Plaza

Posted on August 22, 2017 by hessd

Thank goodness there is no “right way” to watch a solar eclipse. And I think a lot of people felt that way. It didn’t seem to me that up on the roof, the part of the 16th floor, which surrounds … Continue reading →

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Enjoy your meal

Posted on August 12, 2017 by hessd

That seems straightforward enough. It’s the kind of thing many waiters and waitresses say as they leave your table, having just served your meal. And if the alternative is not enjoying your meal, I think it is the best of … Continue reading →

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Boys and girls and emotionality

Posted on August 5, 2017 by hessd

“Why do we limit the emotional vocabulary of boys?” In this piece from the New York Times, Andrew Reiner collects some recent research about how infant boys and girls are treated differently. He cites quite a range of research and … Continue reading →

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The (pause) Lord’s (pause) Prayer (stop)

Posted on August 2, 2017 by hessd

So many kinds of things go on in a Protestant worship service. [1] Calling it “a worship service” is almost a courtesy, but I like the term because it expresses our highest hopes about what we are doing there. Or … Continue reading →

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Alyx Amber, Miss Portland 2017

Posted on July 22, 2017 by hessd

I want to reflect a little today on Alyx Amber, [1] who is currently Facility Services Coordinator at Holladay Park Plaza, where Bette and I live. She is also Miss Portland 2017. I put her name in the first sentence … Continue reading →

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Am I (being) depressed?

Posted on July 14, 2017 by hessd

Today, I want to look at the kind of guidance our language gives us on depression, especially whether it can best be conceived of as active or passive. But before I do that, I have a very small admission to … Continue reading →

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Why am I doing this?

Posted on June 9, 2017 by hessd

I would like to thing about two questions today. The first is “WHY am I doing this” The second is “Why am I doing THIS?” I want to think, in other words, about motivation and discernment. Motivation. A motivation is … Continue reading →

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Tolerance as position and direction

Posted on June 6, 2017 by hessd

Tolerance June 6 I want you to picture a scene in which a really dumb guy is having his picture taken at the edge of the cliffs of Moher. “I can frame this picture better,” says the picture taker (probably a … Continue reading →

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At least cursing the darkness is a systemic response

Posted on June 5, 2017 by hessd

My friend, Bill Teague, is a pastor and a husband and a father and a really good guy. Also a blogger. Abusing the prefix e- in a way I have enjoyed since he first started doing it, he calls the … Continue reading →

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