memento mori
Memento mori, a Latin phrase, is translated, “Remember you are mortal.” Historians believe the phrase was used in Rome when Julius Caesar returned after many years of fighting abroad. As the cavalcades of victory and the general himself paraded through the streets, a slave was behind Caesar repeating the words “Memento mori.” These words were a reminder to Caesar that his…
each and every day
On March 31, 1979, Jamie Livingston took out his Polaroid camera and took a photo. He continued snapping at least one shot a day until the day he died, October 25, 1997. There are pictures of friends and dinners and quaint artifacts of Jamie’s life. By viewing Jamie’s photographs, we discover that he was a Mets fan and a filmmaker.…
butterflies and breathing
As I stepped into The Butterfly Garden, a room populated with 800 colorful-winged beauties, a black and yellow specimen landed on the front of my shirt. We eyeballed each other. It wasn’t going to budge. Now, I’m not a huge fan of anything that resembles an insect—especially when I’m wearing it like a corsage, and especially when it’s the size…
when tragedy strikes
In January 2010, people from around the world were deployed to provide relief to the citizens and land of Haiti. The tragic effects of a powerful earthquake in that country caused our family to wrestle with unsettling and troubling questions: Why did a mind-staggering tragedy like this happen? If God is strong and powerful and loving, couldn’t He have prevented…
