Good, clear communication is hard to find these days.  Don’t get me wrong-- I understand that we are living in an age of technology like we’ve never known before.  We can chat with someone around the world on our computers and cell phones.  Thanks to satellite technology, television and radio signals are bringing up-to-the-minute news coverage and entertainment into some of the remotest places on earth.  But with all of this I can’t help but wonder-- are we really communicating?             ...

In  The Speaker’s Quote Book , author Roy B. Zuck included a poem about a group of men discussing the proper way to pray:            “The proper way for men to pray,” said Deacon Lemuel Keys,            “And the only proper attitude is down upon his knees.”            “No, I should say the way to pray,” said Reverend Dr. Wise,            “Is standing upright with outstretched arms and rapt and upturned eyes.”            “Oh, no, no, no,” said Elmer Slow, “such posture is too proud....

Many people are familiar with the tune “Home, Sweet Home.” Ironically, John Howard Payne, composer of “Home, Sweet Home,” virtually never had a home of his own. Though he was born in New York City in June 1791, and passed much of his childhood in East Hampton, Long Island, Payne spent most of his years wandering about the world, homeless, and more often than not, penniless. From the bankruptcy of his father while he was a student at Union College until Payne’s death in Tunis, North Africa,...