Author Archives: Jim Gleason

I have gone into many buildings, both public and private, and seen a sign restricting access to a room or section of the building. I have even called people on the phone and heard that I cannot speak to the person, because access to them is restricted. It makes me wonder, what are they hiding?Continue reading “Access Restricted”

The last few years have brought a whirlwind of change to our lives. We have been living under the constant upheaval of fluctuating health mandates, prices and wages, product availability, and store closures. It is hard to know what to expect from one day to the next. All of us are searching for some sortContinue reading “Unchangeable”

I often find myself in a conversation with someone who loves to talk. Actually, these are more monologs than conversations. I find it hard to get in a word. Later, I will try to avoid engaging this person in conversation, thus our relationship diminishes. It is often said that Christians do not follow a religion,Continue reading “Two-Way Relationship”

When we were children, we believed what our parents and other authority figures told us. With great anticipation, we waited for our parents to fulfill their promises to us. Unfortunately, they were unable to fulfill all their promises. Work gets in way way of taking us to the ballgame. The car breaks down so theyContinue reading “Broken Promises”

When I was about 10 years old, we took a boat from the Southern California coast to Catalina Island. It was a short and enjoyable trip. Once we got to Catalina I made the mistake of eating too many hot dogs. During the night my stomach was upset, resulting in vomiting for quite some timeContinue reading “Aim Higher”

When cooking a meal for someone special, it is best to first find out what foods they enjoy. When trying to do something nice for someone, it is prudent to first discover their needs and desires. When buying a gift for someone we should first learn their interests. To really please someone, we consider whatContinue reading “Misguided”

The noise of blaming others for the problems we face is deafening. “It’s Trump’s fault”. “Biden’s to blame”. “Democrats caused these problems”. “Republicans messed this country up”. “They hurt me, so I had to…” “They said that and I was offended, so I…” “The economy is bad so I stole… to survive”. Lots of words,Continue reading “Blame Game”

Sometimes I think that it would be fun to take on a new identity. Perhaps I could be an undercover police officer who unravels sophisticated criminal operations. Or I could become an government insider working with the power brokers to achieve significant improvements for all of us. Maybe I could lead a top philanthropic organizationContinue reading “New Identity”

I have noticed that young children speak loudly when they are learning to talk. It is like they only have one volume level. They haven’t yet learned the subtleties and nuances of varying volumes. A native of New York once told me that he only had two volumes, loud and off. As we age weContinue reading “Whispers”

In the past two weeks I have undergone two heart procedures. The first, a heart catheterization, checked for significant blockage. The second, a heart ablation, removed incorrect electronic signals that caused the heart to beat irregularly. The doctors used highly sophisticated equipment to see into my heart and complete their analysis and initiate corrective treatment.Continue reading “Heart Procedures”