On 9/11, Canada Did The Right Thing, As Usual

by Kevin Burton    On this day 25 years ago, Canada proved its friendship to the United States beyond any shadow of doubt.    I never knew what Canada did as a reaction to the 9/11 attacks, which were perpetrated mostly by Saudi Arabian nationals, until this week. When I learned of it, I was …

Principal Evacuated 900 Students Before Flood

by Shonal Ganguly and Sheikh Saaliq Associated Press BIDUR, Nepal (AP) — Rajendra Dawadi was inside his classroom when a colleague rushed in with a warning: Floodwaters were racing through Nepal’s Trishuli Valley, tearing apart homes, bridges and entire villages.    Then a teacher received another warning by phone. Moments later, a parent arrived to take …

Dolly Parton: One Thing Americans Agreed On

by Robin Levinson-Kingand and Sheila Flynn BBC    Dolly Parton was a lot of things – a country musician, a philanthropist, an actress, a storyteller and a businesswoman. One thing she never was, however, was a politician.    But don’t think it’s because no one asked her. In 1999, during an appearance on the talk …

Twice Born, One Woman, Thank You Mom

by Kevin Burton     Fellow Christians, you’ve heard some stupid things no doubt, as you have tried to witness to unbelievers.  Try this one on for size.    Once while I was working as an English teacher in Mexico, I tried to witness to a supervisor. We were off the job, a few of us …

Reading To Mom From “The Blue Book”

 by Kevin Burton    We called it the Blue Book, and it was/is a gift from God, via Grand Rapids.    There was a season, still very fresh in memory, when my mother, having slowly lost most of her abilities, was bedridden, periodically quite discouraged, badly in need of comfort.    Toward the end of …

Mom Gave Me Birth, Gave Back My Birthday

by Kevin Burton    Today we talk birthdays on what would have been my mother’s 92nd. She died May 4, leaving an unfillable hole in my heart and life.    She is gone from this life but far, far from forgotten. There were many special days while mom was with us. Birthdays were among the …

Missing My Mom And Defining “Carry On”

by Kevin Burton “And when one of us is gone, and one of us is left to carry on, then remembering will have to do..” “You and Me Against The World” Helen Reddy    The first song I played after learning of my mother’s death on May 4, was “First Morning In Heaven,” by The …

Words To Live By, Words To Die By, Words

by Kevin Burton    I bury my mother today. Can you imagine such a thing?    Life is a coin flip, with love on one side and pain on the other. Pain, in some measure, is the residue of love.    Live. Love. Toss the coin. Do it.    “There’s a sad day coming, and …

My Friend, “Prepaid” Is The Only Way To Go

by Kevin Burton    I called the cemetery where my mother will be buried next week and told the clerk that the time had come.    The clerk was actually en route to work. She said she would look up our family’s records once she got there, and call me back.    “Everything is paid …

Bye For Now, Evelyn Marie, Bye For Now

by Kevin Burton    Mom started it. I followed suit right away. We both understood though we never discussed it.    Somewhere, maybe six or seven years ago, we began ending a phone conversation or one of my visits to her at assisted living or in the nursing home with “bye for now!”    We’ll …