Author Archives: jackpelham

I have worked for many years on excellence of mind―considering reality to be a fine rule of thumb, to which my own thoughts and attitudes and intentions and beliefs and decisions should be repaired. I have read all or most … Continue reading →

It has been my observation―And you can quote me on this if you like―That most people are fairly well-behavedWhen they are behaving well. When you see them falling short,It’s often not so much because they don’t Know any better as … Continue reading →

I think this meme is clumsy, and overstates its case. This is aggravating, because the point it really wants to make is a good one, but it is overstated here, beyond what is true and reasonable, as if the author … Continue reading →

This is a question that will not likely occur to many a layman, and I wanted to ask it here briefly, if that were possible. It’s two questions, really―as the whole thing happens to occur to me at present:

Do we not so often judge our own pietyBy where we draw the line,Rather than by where we do not?

Pardon me for bring up the differenceIn a world that would rather pretendThere is none, but I need to knowWhen you say “love”, what kind you mean.

Wouldn’t it be somethingIf it were to turn out that after All these years of modest success,I should chance to discover in myselfAn honest-to-goodness superpower in suchA surprisingly-mundane thing as getting Sufficient help from my friends! And wouldn’t it be … Continue reading →

He got a love letter―Its seven pages consuming him for a weekUntil he had it practically memorized,And had pored over each phrase to be sureHe knew what it must mean.

They think that hearing the preacherTalk about the Bible is pretty muchThe same as knowing it for themselves.

When she said “yes” to his proposal,She had thought she was also saying “yes”To all her dreams coming true. That’s how it had felt.