I admit, the safari was one of the reasons I decided to go to Tanzania. Close encounters with African animals have been something I’ve dreamed about since childhood, back when I was a Tarzan wannabe swinging through (and sometimes into) trees. If I had known that in addition to a Land Cruiser I’d also ride a motorcycle in the African bush among the animals, the decision to go would have been a no-brainer.  Early Monday morning, two large safari vehicles picked our group up at the lodge where we were staying and took us to …

This title may come across as sacrificial and spiritual, but that’s not totally the case. It is, however, a good way to sum up my first two days in Tanzania. I’ll start with the flight, though, since it figures into the events, and my attitude, that followed. It lasted over 28 hours, counting layovers in Minneapolis and Amsterdam. When we landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport Friday evening (Tanzania time), I had yet to rack up even 28 seconds of sleep. I had a sermon to preach Sunday morning, so I was really looking forward to some …

Recently I found myself looking up sleeping sickness symptoms. I had been home from Africa for three days and still had stuff lying all over the house. Everywhere except on the couch. That seems to have become my new home. In addition to extreme fatigue, the CDC says to look for a possible fever, severe headaches, irritability, skin rash, progressive confusion . . . .  I guess I’m OK. Fatigue is the only symptom I identify with. Except maybe progressive confusion, but I didn’t have to travel to get that. The CDC has records of …

Sometime after retirement, I began to cultivate a smile. Perhaps it was because of retirement itself. Or maybe now that I wasn’t working I finally had time for it. Whatever the reason, it wasn’t long before I began smiling at everybody. I’ve read smiling can make you live longer and look younger. It’s a natural facelift. I’ve been practicing this new smile for a few years now. It took a while for it to become a habit because a frown comes pretty naturally. In fact, sometimes I look like I’m frowning even when I’m not …