My Blog
Dipping, Sipping, or Something Else?
I can't count the number of times that I have been assured that it is safe to drink from the common cup. Admittedly, if it were VERY dangerous, our churches would be empty--we'd all be dead. But is it safe? As a microbiologist and immunologist, I think not. Let’s...
How You Getting COVID Benefits Me
I'm sure you're tired of it. After all, COVID-19 is still raging and we hear of people having it on almost a daily basis. Fortunately, most of us have either been vaccinated or had it--so the vast majority of people recover. You might wonder why. Don't the...
The Plague is Coming Again
When I first wrote this blog, I had hope. It would only last for a month and then not come back for 17 years. Sigh. Unfortunately, starting next month, it'll become something of a tradition—every day I will go into the garden and check for cicadas. At first, I'll only...
Unforgivable is Out!
Soon after the publication of Brave Face: The Inspiring WWII Memoir of a Dutch/German Child, my mother, Meta, and I heard an outcry. “We want more!” I wanted to provide that by writing about my father, Frits’s, life, but it seemed unlikely I could. After...
The Nature and Necessity of Beauty
Not so long ago, one of my granddaughters brought her little face up close to mine and inspected me carefully. “Grammy, you’re really old!” At another time, another one asked me why I don’t just let my hair be gray, seeing as I am ancient anyway. And just recently,...
Seasons Change
Who of us remembers that song, “Turn Turn, Turn” with music by the Byrds and lyrics by King Solomon? I certainly listened to, and even memorized, it many years ago, when I was a child growing up in Iowa. If you want to hear it again, this is the link. From...