frdavid11

Not All Changes are Good

On this date in 1971, on the right bank of the Ohio River in the baseball stadium where I would eventually watch my first big league games, one of the finest lineups in baseball—the Big Red Machine—failed to get a hit against Cubs pitcher Ken Holtzman. Holtzman had already pitched two of the nine completeContinue reading “Not All Changes are Good”

Close but No Cigar

If you were to go to Meteora, Greece, ascend the spire atop of which is the Great Meteora Monastery, and then followed the monks into their katholikon to attend evening vespers, you would walk by a remarkable fresco surrounding the door. It depicts pagan philosophers Solon, Sybil, Socrates, Plutarch, Homer, Thucydides, Plato, and Aristotle (amongContinue reading “Close but No Cigar”

We All Need Restraint

I enjoy conversations (not as much the sometime arguments) with my sons. As they grow in understanding and engage in the wider world outside our home, they show me the world in new ways and refresh my understanding of it. Things I’ve held as true without question they question, and I have to think aboutContinue reading “We All Need Restraint”

It Ain’t Superstitious If It’s True

I can’t remember ever being particularly superstitious. I have never feared walking under a ladder, or dreaded bad luck if I broke a mirror, and never thought twice about going out on a Friday just because it was the 13th. None of these or many similar things ever really made sense to me. How couldContinue reading “It Ain’t Superstitious If It’s True”

You Shall See Greater Things Than These*

When I was in the process of becoming Orthodox, one practice I found difficult to accept was the veneration of icons. Bowing and kissing seemed an awful lot like worship to me, dangerously close, so close that maybe we’d be better off if we just didn’t do it. Well, no, in fact we would beContinue reading “You Shall See Greater Things Than These*”

Getting on the Ball

It seems impossible that it has been nearly two years since I have written anything about baseball, so since we’re at the beginning of the annual baseball reawakening, I think I will begin to reengage this page with a reflection of my favorite sport. Not only is Major League Baseball Spring Training now underway, butContinue reading “Getting on the Ball”

Only in Rome is it Possible to Understand Rome.

I am astonished to be able to say that I’ve been to Rome half a dozen times. With only one exception, however, I’ve never spent the night there. Living in Naples, we are only an hour away by high-speed train and so we’ve made several day trips to the Eternal City, enough that I’m ratherContinue reading “Only in Rome is it Possible to Understand Rome.”

So. Much. Art.

After mom and dad arrived with Keyran, we checked them into their hotel on base and let them rest. We introduced them to Neapolitan pizza from our favorite local restaurant their first night in Italy, but there was little time to adjust before we began the first leg of our Italian Summer Vacation. Our firstContinue reading “So. Much. Art.”

The Scandal of a Vulnerable God

Contrary to a popular holiday meme, Mary and Joseph were not indigent, and they were not refugees. They had no expectations of anyone else providing for their needs and went to the inn knowing payment would be expected. Joseph was a tradesman—a carpenter—and they were in Bethlehem to register themselves in a census so thatContinue reading “The Scandal of a Vulnerable God”

A Great Oddity, a City for Beavers*

When we were preparing for their arrival, Nora and I kept asking my parents what they wanted to do or see while in Europe. We entertained ideas of short trips to other countries—Mom wanted to go to Corfu in Greece—but we all settled on staying within Italy. Less time in transit, more time exploring. WhatContinue reading “A Great Oddity, a City for Beavers*”