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We do not often think about it, but people have been talking for a long time.  It is a primary form of communication for us.  At creation, we were equipped with auditory organs we call ears for the purpose of receiving and interpreting sound of all types, including the sounds that are made by vocal organs of other human beings. Normally we hear sounds and interpret them in smooth succession.  A category of sounds that requires a lot of us during the learning phase is language.  Most other types of sounds are fairly simple when we compare them to language – verbal communication.  The reason for this is that speech sound has to accomplish so many things for us, and many of them are very subtle compared to most “natural” sounds. Anyway, we were born with the capacity to produce and to hear and interpret verbal sounds sourced in people.  We all know language acquisition is fairly difficult when we are older.  In fact, it is one of the more difficult things we accomplish when we are very young, and our skill with it typically continues to grow, even as we grow older, simply because it is hard to do. We usually speak in the same language day to day.  That language is usually the one we learned as [...]

As I begin a new phase in my life, it has been suggested to me that I take a bit of time for some personal thoughts.  I do not find myself all that interesting, so I can’t relate well to how anyone else could.  However, because we are social creatures, I can find some value in sharing this transition with you to some degree.  After all, I have done only one thing for virtually all of my “work-life.” That one thing has been very demanding, don’t get me wrong.  It has had a number of phases but the central goal has been singular.  In a moment, I will speak of some other phases of this life, but the core activity first. When I was in the sixth grade, I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up.  The answer I gave to that query was that I wanted to be a chemistry professor.  I sort of got that right.  My first degree is in chemistry.  I was in graduate school in chemistry and well on my way toward that stated intent when life ambushed me.  At the halfway point of my master’s program in chemistry, I was drafted into the Army and spent about three years being a soldier.  In the same time frame I came [...]

We little note the most important factor in the creation of man.  Of course we all know the story - most of us almost have the text memorized.   On the sixth day God created the man Adam.  When He did so, He created mankind in the multiplicity of male and female.  That is a great and beautiful mystery, but not our topic at the moment.  Herein I want to focus on the creation of the man named Adam.  At the end of that act of bringing man into the Creation to take dominion over it, God launched the man to set the stage for the rest of us. We may wonder whether God fully molded Adam's face.  Did He form each organ with care?  How tall was the frame of Adam?  What color was his skin?  Was his hair curly?  These and other standard questions may come to mind.  They may be cute idle musings, but I think we all place very little importance on them.  But where do we place the emphasis when we consider this very important phenomenon?  Invariably, our focus is on the finished product.  When He was finished with His work, a living being had come into existence.  This was a unique entity, different from all the other living entities the Creator had placed in [...]