Ron's Blog

Enjoy Ron Culberson's insights on a variety of topics

Rediscovering the Crock Pot

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The challenge for people who work, or people like me who, when I’m not on the road, sit at a desk and pretend to work, is balancing the other responsibilities in our lives that also need attention.  Forget all that goes with having children, just preparing a healthy meal in the evenings is enough to […]

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At Least Obama Tried to Be Funny

During last night’s State of the Union speech, President Obama told a very bad joke.  Personally, I like very bad jokes but I am always prepared with a recovery line if my audience agrees that it’s a very bad joke.  Here’s Obama’s line: “I’ve ordered every federal agency to eliminate rules that don’t make sense. […]

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I’m a Funeral Junkie

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OK, so I like funerals.  Is that weird? I didn’t like them so much when I was young but as I got older, they grew on me.  Now, I enjoy them. Funerals are an odd mixture of grief, humor, re-connected relationships, and food.  I guess you could say they’re all about life, love, and laughter. […]

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s Documents Available Online

The King Center Imaging Project has made over 200,000 documents available online at The King Center.  Among the documents are the handwritten notes for Dr. King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech and initial edits of his “I Have a Dream” speech. As a huge fan of Dr. King, it’s is fascinating to see his handwritten […]

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Was Bold

As a graduate student in social work, I sometimes wished I had been born 10-15 years earlier so that I could have participated in the civil rights movement.  It seemed so congruent with my beliefs and the ideals I was being taught as a social worker.  Dignity.  Self determination.  Respect. But alas, I was born […]

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When Times Are Tough, We Need More Fun

For the past few years, just about every industry has experienced economic “tough times.”  One would think that this is a perfect time to explore those intangible employment benefits that may be less economically tied, but in some cases, just as beneficial. USA Today ran a front page article on Friday called “Laughing our cares […]

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Customer Service is Alive and Well at Starbucks

A woman in California is suing Starbucks because they (allegedly) would not let her use the restroom to fix her prosthetic leg, without buying something first.  In other words, they felt it was better to give her a cup of hot steaming coffee so that while she hobbled to the bathroom on her wobbly leg, […]

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Holiday Stuffing

The US Coast Guard, according to a recent report, has reduced the passenger capacity on commercial vessels because the average weight of Americans has gone up from 160 pounds to 185 pounds.  I guess that means too much tonnage in the steerage. As I look at the piles of holiday cookies already accumulating in my […]

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Would You Have Reported Sandusky?

Thomas Paine said, “Character is much easier kept than recovered.” That makes me think of Penn State.  Lost character that may not ever be recovered. I find myself asking, “Why didn’t someone do something?”  And then I wonder, “Would I have done something?” Easier said than done. A number of years ago, my son Ryan […]

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The Prophet – Talking

As a perpetual talker, I found this excerpt from Kahil Gibran’s The Prophet especially poignant.  It really shows how to talk good, uh, well. You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;      And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your […]

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