By Jim Nichols There was a backyard conversation recently, a kind of wildlife fantasy. It was possible to eavesdrop thanks to modern technology. Only a few people know that Amazon is now selling what can best be called a “wildlife language translator.” I bought one. The instructions were not too clear as to whether the device was listening to actual

By Jim Nichols The winter Olympics are on television right now and, as usual, they are spectacular in multiple aspects. Strength, skill, and technique abound, as does courage. Can you imagine how many times each of those athletes has fallen during practice? And not just fallen but fallen on ice? Ice is hard. Hold those thoughts about making mistakes and

By Jim Nichols There are multiple folk versions of the parable of the blindmen trying to describe an elephant. You will remember that one man felt the side of the animal and described it as a wall. Another felt the trunk and said it was a snake. Various other descriptions were a spear (tusk), tree (leg), fan (ear), rope (tail,)

By Jim Nichols Like others, I have been amused at news reports suggesting that younger people have difficulty telling time on an analog clock or watch. In our digital age, there is apparently something mysterious about a circular clock face with numbers and hands that move around the circumference. That contrasts with my rite of passage (like tying my shoes)

By Jim Nichols There are words in our language that can have quite different meanings depending on the context of their use. One such word merits our interest here; the word is “agency.” Most commonly, when someone uses that word the reference is to a division of the government, that is, some federal agency. For example, the Central Intelligence Agency

By Jim Nichols Sometimes I write to myself rather than to you, readers. I was probably six or seven years old when I received my first, very own Bible. Oak Park Christian Church must have had a Bible giveaway to children of a certain age. I was proud of that Bible; my father had wonderful printing ability, and he inscribed

By Jim Nichols The week between Christmas and New Year’s is an odd one in ways. Our normal calendar has no other major holidays so close together. They are different holidays in important ways, but for many of us, I am guessing, they are connected. For one thing, they disrupt our daily schedules. They re-position our work schedules and by

By Jim Nichols Who knows what the true trigger is? A person might be reading a book and the sensation starts. Perhaps a long-lost photograph falls from an old magazine where it was stuck for decades. Maybe a movie or television show touches on something you thought you had buried in your personal history and therefore successfully forgotten. Regardless of

By Jim Nichols As the American Christmas season nears, positive images are beginning to surround us. Memorable music, aromas, colorful lights, perfectly prepared special foods—we each have our favorite aspects. In many ways, it is a wonderful time. A friend once proposed to me that he thought the incarnation, not the resurrection, was the fundamental activity of Christianity. He defended