"It's not a good idea to go up to people and ask, 'Are you homeless?'" It's mid-Saturday morning at the Ministry Training Center (MTC) in Elmhurst, a neighborhood in Queens, NYC. About two dozen Lancastrians have just gotten off the bus in the Big Apple and are getting a crash course in local demographics and street ministry. "There's about ninety thousand people per square mile here in Elmhurst. Most of them are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Many of them don't speak English." … [Read more...] about A Day in Queens
17-Year Cicadas—Visitors from the Underground
"They sound like a chainsaw starting up," is how my sister Joanne described the noise that the Brood X cicadas make in the woods near her family's home. The 17-year cicadas have emerged from their underground dwellings, and are crawling up trees, shedding their nymphal skins, and filling the woods with the sound of their singing. "Our dogs love to eat them," my friend Linda said on Sunday evening. Linda and her husband also live in a wooded area, and she showed us pictures of her garden … [Read more...] about 17-Year Cicadas—Visitors from the Underground
A Brighter Springtime
I remember clearly what I did on Easter 2020: I went biking alone. No church, no family dinner, no socializing. Of course, that's how the season was for most everyone. Stay home and slow the spread. I was fortunate to keep my job, but everything else pretty much halted. For good or for ill, that was spring 2020. So while I have been seriously neglecting Penny Letters in the last few months, it's because of happier days! I took a Saturday job answering phones at a mulch business, church … [Read more...] about A Brighter Springtime
Why I’m Not Really a Dog Person (Maybe)
On my way home from work today, I decided to stop by one of the local megachurches and use their walking trail. The church is surrounded by wide fields, and I spent a good portion of my walk being entertained by an unfortunate couple chasing their large dog though one of the bare fields, still damp from yesterday's rain. I watched the chase until I got to the part of the trail where I would have had to crane my neck too much to continue watching the dog get the best of two humans. That would … [Read more...] about Why I’m Not Really a Dog Person (Maybe)
How I’ve Kept From Being Bored This Winter!
For this blog post I'm writing about several of the activities I've been doing over the past month or two, and just for fun, I'll rate them for you! Cleaning Out My Bookcase Right around New Year's Day, I spent a happy afternoon completely cleaning off my two bookcases and sorting them by genre. I came across books that I haven't read yet but really want to, so it was kind like getting free books! Winter activity rating: A+. Bagel-Making In late January, I got together with a … [Read more...] about How I’ve Kept From Being Bored This Winter!