Conversations Blog

Probably no human has made a bigger mark on children’s television than Fred Rogers (1928-2003), who is more commonly known by the title of his show, Mister Rogers. The show, Mister Rogers Neighborhood, ran from 1968 to 2001 on public television and was a staple for young baby boomers and generation X viewers.   I…

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is one of those old famous guys we all think we know something about. He had something to do with psychiatry, but that’s about as far as the average person goes. Many of his theories have largely been debunked by 2020, yet he changed the course of many lives when it comes…

When it comes to mental health, there are three general categories of people. There are the severely vulnerable who need help much of their lives, there are the super-humans who can absorb any and all tragedies and shake them off, and there’s the rest of us. Most people fit into the last category- able to…

German soldiers near the end of World War II were among the most determined warriors ever- battling to the last man even though they knew they were losing the war. When interviewed after the war was over, the soldiers professed no great love for Hitler or what he stood for. Their main loyalty was to…

Being a Civil Voice in Uncivil Times “Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.  If the foot would say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear would say,…

When I was growing up there was a television show called “Lassie”, about a smart collie that doubled as a superhero- saving people from all sorts of disasters. For 18 years Lassie got her humans out of danger with a bark and a wag, played by 6 different dog actors. Without saying a word, Lassie…

Sunday, November 8 & 15  | 11:15am | via ZOOM While a college student, Parkway member John Dwyer worked in the summers as a merchant seaman on Great Lakes “ore boats.” This included a summer on the Edmund Fitzgerald, which on November 10, 1975 was lost with all hands during a ferocious storm on Lake…

When the Covid epidemic first hit in March of 2020, several interesting things became hard to find, (besides toilet paper). Bicycles became hard to find worldwide, and and bicycle makers shut down. Exercise equipment, especially dumbbells became very scarce. And swimming pools and trampolines were harder and harder to come by. People were stuck in…

November is National Family Caregivers Month! 83% of the help provided to older adults in the United States comes from family members, friends or other unpaid caregivers. Nearly half of all caregivers who provide help to older adults do so for someone living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. Who are the caregivers? • About one…