Ron's Blog

Enjoy Ron Culberson's insights on a variety of topics

Abnormal or Just Unfamiliar?

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Abnormal or Just Unfamiliar?

As a young person growing up in rural Southwest Virginia, I was a bit more sheltered than those who spent their childhoods in urban environments. I had wonderful experiences, grew up with many good people, and honestly, I wouldn’t trade a minute of it. That being said, once I got into the “real” world, I […]

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Volunteering, It Deserves a Second Look

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Volunteering, It Deserves a Second Look

As a lifelong volunteer and to celebrate National Volunteer Week, I’m republishing a blog from 2015. I’ve edited it a bit but the point is still the same—volunteering is key to our health and wellbeing. Enjoy! I have been involved in some sort of volunteer organization for most of my life. More recently, as an […]

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Why Doesn’t “Phonetic” Start With an “F”?

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Why Doesn’t “Phonetic” Start With an “F”?

Have you ever noticed how many ways we can say something using the English language? There is a plethora, an abundance, a wealth, a cornucopia, or as some might say, “Too damn many.” With all these options, our language gets quite complicated. The other day, I was filling out a crossword puzzle and one of […]

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Managers, Pay Better Attention

Managers, Pay Better Attention

When I was trained as a social worker, my graduate program followed the psychodynamic theory of human behavior. This approach focused on Ids and Egos, and suggested that our emotional problems might be tied to our inner child, our outer parents, or perhaps the inner and outer trauma associated with potty training. It was an […]

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Planning for the Inevitable

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Planning for the Inevitable

A friend of mine recently said that it seems like more people die in January. I don’t know if January leads the calendar in deaths but since it’s often noted that nothing in life is guaranteed but death and taxes, I would expect April to hold that honor. At sixty one years of age, I’ve […]

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Happy New Year…uh…Day

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Happy New Year…uh…Day

It’s that time of year again. Even if you haven’t put away the decorations, I suspect you have spent the past few weeks putting away enough food and drink for the both of us. And I’m right there with you. Now, it’s time to get back to work, back to school, and back to the […]

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A Short List of Annoying People

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A Short List of Annoying People

After several months of doing more traveling than I did in the past two years, I’ve made an important discovery. It turns out that I am more annoyed by other people than I was pre-COVID. Perhaps being cooped up at home with only one other person caused me to be less patient of everyone else. […]

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Humor, Take Me Away

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Humor, Take Me Away

An old television commercial showed a woman describing the many demands in her life and when she finally got to her breaking point, she looked towards the heavens and said, “Calgon, take me away.”  She was immediately transported to an overly sudsy bathtub and relieved of all the stress in her life. I’m not sure […]

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It All Worked Out in the End

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It All Worked Out in the End

This year marks ten years since I had a colonoscopy—which means, I’m due for another. In honor of that historic milestone, I thought I’d republish an article from my first experience in 2011. Enjoy!   If you’re over 50 and you haven’t had a colonoscopy, pick up the phone and schedule one right now. There’s […]

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