It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… — Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities. As memorable an opening sentence in literature as there ever was, I wonder how long Dickens worked on that classic phrase. Dickens was describing the time of the French revolution, but do you think that he could be…

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Follow the Pew for any length of time and you will know that I love phrases and quotes. When I was on my sabbatical, I made a collection of quotes that inspired me or had an effect. I use quotes to begin my daily meditation on lots of mornings. But my love of quotes has…

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Not all those who wander are lost. — Tolkien. To put Tolkien’s words in context here is the complete phrase from The Fellowship Of the Ring: All that is gold does not glitter / Not all those who wander are lost / The old that is strong does not wither / Deep roots are not reached by…

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Sometimes I sit in front of my computer ready to write the daily Pew, an article, or the next page of my latest book, and I find myself staring at a blank page unable to write something down. My mind begins to race trying to find the right beginning, to no avail. I ask myself…

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I went to my car the other day and the battery was dead. After a few not so nice words about best laid plans, I called AAA and not long thereafter I had a brand new battery and the car is running fine. The incident reminded me that the older the car the more one…

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