The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride is an amazing well told story of the power of community. It delves into the damage caused by bigotry and deceit as well as the impact of courage and kindness. The history of one of the very worse institutions...

CJ and his friend Steven cast drop their lines right off of this dock. They drive 20 minutes to fish here regularly and I met them while working with the Tennessee Aquarium. He is happy to talk to me and tells me about the types of fish here and asks where I a...

In the book “Together” the US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy presents research on the cause and impact of loneliness and stories of individuals and communities that are making a difference by building connections and stronger communities. From t...

“What’s your favourite walking route?” was one of a dozen questions on the spinning wheel at a community BBQ. Neighbours who attended the event could spin the wheel and draw or write a response to their question. The questions were designed t...

In the book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner; he defines awe as being in the presence of something so vast that it transcends your current understanding of the world. I think of the “wow” ...

Everyone has gifts, usually many gifts. These are the things we like to do, care about, know or pay attention to and are important to us. Frequently these are easily discovered. Other times it takes time, conversation and a relationship before more gifts are v...

One idea to get to know a neighborhood better is to be a tourist for an afternoon and see what unexpected treasures you discover. In Oshkosh, Wisconsin I was intrigued by the old architecture of the buildings on Main Street. One building had the most unusual a...

” I saw a platypus on my way to school” were the words as the smiling child walked on past the animal farm on her way to school. I created the farm with little plastic animals several months ago as an experiment to see what would happen. I have got...

I was staying at a airbnb in a small town just outside of Cincinnati. Work commitments kept me busy most of the day during the week and during the evening I would walk or bike around town taking in the sights. Early one morning I walked up to a coffee shop and...

I stopped my bike on the bridge to look at the ducks gathered on the ice and saw a man walking through the woods on the other side of the bridge. As he made his way up to the bridge I noticed he had two cameras hanging on straps around his neck, both with larg...