Sheppard's Rest: Reflections about life, both the inscrutable and the beautiful

A 1930's stove? The one that used to be mine? You've got to be kidding!

Suddenly I felt quite alone.

Do you remember the lovable curmudgeon? I thought it was time for a tip of the hat to someone I really loved to hear.

How old are you? Ther answer to that question may go a long way to determining whether this story resonates with you.

]Forgiveness is not always warranted, and not due to the egregiousness of the perceived offense.

The run-up to the 2024 election may be far more important than the election itself. That has me feeling very nervous.

Sports fans may be headed for court if they continue to steal stuff.

We lost a family member a few weeks ago, someone who we had only met once bot whose life impacted us in ways that will never end.

What are you reflecting on at the end of 2023?

Personal Christmas gifts are always the best, but these took that notion to a whole new level for me.

What if we had just given it to them?

The Fugitive wasn't the only one feeling like an outcast on August 29, 1967.

Had a bad day recently? Me, too.

What might be at work when a coincidence is so strong as to make you hold your head and lose your breath?

There is far more to that tree rthan the decorations adorning it.

The number one fear in people is the fear of public speaking. Imagine what that might be like if you had no ability to speak.

Everyone is an author. Is everyone also a publisher?

She sent me a card. But it was so much more than that....

What does the land say?

For every listener who scoffs, I simply refeer them to a book which lays it all out, in chilling detail.

What's going to happen to all of us by then? 250 million years is a drop in the bucket.

You've likely never heard of it, you likely cannot pronounce it, and you want nothing to do with it. It's C diff.

Great learning is possible in silence.

I want you to hear about this technology that can transform your life while shingling your house.

If you want to get from point A to point B, you've got to head in the right direction. If you want the answer to particular problem, you've got to ask the right question.

Even if you go fishing every day, you're not likely to experience a catch like this one.

It's what's inside that counts.

There ought to be a law against this; oh, wait. There is.

Some things never change, including the man who would be king.

I have met the enemy.

"You can't always get what you want," sing The Rolling Stones. But sometimes you can....

There'a a way to feel better and you don't even need to take a pill for it!

Phoenix 117 degrees? That's cool by these guys' standards.

What good ideas have you ever had that turned to mud?

What makes 40-some people remain good friends after 50+ years?

We lost someone precious this past week. You should know something about her.

Babies speak a language that is terrible and wonderful and we will do almost anything to understand. After all, how could we not help someone so reliant on us?

If the bad guys just put as much energy into honest work as they do into their scams, this country would solve all of its economic woes.

A sign of certainty in a world which craves it.

Sometimes some of the older pants are the best.

This might have been among the very top Father's Day gifts ever. It was for me, anyway.

Is Three Dog Night really Three Dog Night? Who are these guys, anyway?

I don't even know the guy, but I sure take exception to something he penned some years ago.

Finding a spiritual peace might be as elementary as looking down at the ground and up in the sky.

Last week we had the opportunity to meet our pen pal of the past school year and had a mini-party of the year so far. What a cool, new friend!

It's all about planning and then adapting, and learning to marvel at the place that is Holland.

What else on Mother's Day 2023? A reflection of Mom.

Sometimes you just have to get out there and go for it, and it doesn't matter whether you succeed or not!

We've just experienced a new definition of what it means to get plastered!

Meet our neighbors, the deer. All 12 of them.