Photo by Engin Akyuck Mike Smerconish, a talking head for CNN, commented that there was not much in any articles, reflections or obituaries for Ted Turner that mentioned that he suffered from Manic Depression. Mike who is a former EA parent and friend was making the point that there is a stigma to a person making public his mental health issues. He also added that there are some people who have Manic Depression who have been great le

I will always value what my Latin teacher, Ms. Higgins, taught me because there are times when Latin does a better job than standard English in determining what the words really mean in greater detail. Aristotle named something that should be recovered. An example is the way the word wisdom is sometimes used to express the goal of something that is important to learn. But Aristotle indicated that Sophia is the wisdom that is needed to get the right answer to something on a te

The Reverend James R. Squire, Hon. Eulogy for The Reverend Alexander (Sandy) McCurdy, III Ph.D., ‘87 Sandy and I were in a meeting together with others to give feedback to a person who requested a response to how he was doing as a leader. About halfway through the meeting Sandy stood and held up a plumb line, a simple string and weight on the end, which was used by carpenters to determine true or proper alignment. The plumb line represents God’s

There are certain dates that are part of one’s muscle memory. August 18 never passes without me thinking of the date when football camp would start when I was in high school. Likewise, I always remember when the Broad Street Run occurs as it always follows EA’s Alumni Weekend. There is always the question of why so many thousands of runners choose to run in this 10 miles run from North Philly down Broad Street to the areas where all the stadiums are located at the end of Bro

Photo by Erik McLean Compliments are communication, but we don’t think about them often. I have heard few people who are aware of them. There are 20 of them in scripture that are powerful statements such as “You have the gift of encouragement, I always enjoy being with you.” Romans 12:6-8; You’re courageous, I admire how you depend on God as you walk through life with him: Deuteronomy 13:6 You are great at delegating! I appreciate this trait because I feel you trust me and va

I and others have written extensively about guilt and shame. Guilt is that I did something wrong while shame is when I feel I am something wrong. It appears that these two emotions are distinct, but not enough is written about the transition between the two which is often how and why they can take hold of our identity. First, we can feel guilt and then over time it can be converted to shame as sometimes guilt just festers like a sore that becomes infected. There are certain a

Photo by Kristina Flour I love to read! I like watching a great mystery, sporting event, or CNN on TV! I like doing research on things I don’t know! I like checking information on my iPhone, and I enjoy jotting down notes on a yellow legal pad if certain thoughts of interest come to my mind! The problem and challenge for me is there are occasions when I am doing all these things at the same time. I must look silly in my world of multitasking. For me, I have always been this

It is a coincidence or the work of the spirit that I made a comment in a recent blog that the trouble with Trump’s negotiations is that he appears to have one approach to his Art of the Deal. Keep in mind that Trump didn’t write that book as it was written by a friend of one of my friends with Trump communicating his ideas verbally. But in an editorial in the Inquirer one of my heroes, Trudy Rubin, wrote that Trump has one tool in his arsenal of deal making. It is a hammer as

One of the sayings that I became part of our culture in the 90s was “Be Like Mike”. This was a reference to Michael Jordan, one of the best basketball players of all time. But it wasn’t basketball that was the only reason for the song or statement. It became the Gatorade commercial in 1991. It was created by Ernie Pitzel, an advertising executive, who also attached the image of Mike to the aspirations of young kids playing basketball. He was a hero. Being hard working and pra

Yale’s recent report on the lack of trust in higher education in the Ivy League and beyond has shaken up colleges’ perception in the marketplace. Just this morning there was a report on how small colleges are closing faster than ever or merging and places like Drexel and Temple are struggling to get their number of qualified people to reach their admission goals. At the same time the “Duke Alumni Magazine” arrived with the title on the front cover, “Young and Rising: How Nex-

It is difficult to deal with the smug nature of J D Vance. It took him awhile to come to the defense of Trump, but in a recent address, he stepped forward to indicate that the President was right about Trump’s theology as was he as well. Their logic was that if we went to war in the Second World War, then Pope Leo had to be wrong about the morality of the war of choice in which we are now embedded in Iran. Evidently Vance never heard of the Just War Clause that is based in Na

It is difficult to deal with the smug nature of J D Vance. It took him awhile to come to the defense of Trump, but in a recent address, he stepped forward to indicate that the President was right about Trump’s theology as was he as well. Their logic was that if we went to war in the Second World War, then Pope Leo had to be wrong about the morality of the war of choice in which we are now embedded in Iran. Evidently Vance never heard of the Just War Clause that is based in Na