Category Archives: Stories

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 2, 2015 by ivanbenson

A New Year! Once again we have embarked on the journey into a brand new year, and the excitement is all around us, isn’t it? I watched on the television as people on the other side of the world celebrated … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged celebration, Ebenezer Scrooge, Future, Judds, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, Past, Present, Unity | 8 Comments

The Gift

Posted on December 20, 2014 by ivanbenson

This spring I will complete my 12th year as an entertainer at Stone Mountain Park. It has been a wonderful experience in countless ways. About 10 years ago I was privileged to work with master story teller, Tom Marquart, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged altruism, Christ, Field of Dreams, gift, Grandpa Lacey, hocus pocus, James Earl Jones, Jesus, love, Scott Rousseau, Stone Mountain Park, story, The Gift, Tom Marquart | 6 Comments

Casting Call

Posted on November 20, 2014 by ivanbenson

Yesterday one of my former students lost her husband to a heart attack; a young family is now fatherless. A good friend in his 60s just lost his brother to cancer early today. As I write, my wife and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged Carly Simon, heart attack | 11 Comments

Imagine That!

Posted on October 16, 2014 by ivanbenson

My youngest daughter has not yet married; she is twenty-eight. Of course, not everyone wants to be married. And not marrying certainly doesn’t make someone a second class citizen. But . . . she wants to marry. She wants to share … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged commitment, divorce, loyalty, marriage, obsolete | 12 Comments

Ashes, 2 Ashes

Posted on September 2, 2014 by ivanbenson

It happened while I was watching a favorite TV series the other night. A young man was given his estranged father’s ashes to scatter as a memorial to him. He chose Eagle Lake, a special place in Alberta where his … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging Parents, Family History, Fathers, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Alberta, ashes, casualness, cremation, devotion, Eagle Lake, Gettysburg, Heartland, honor, human remains, interment, life is sacred, reverence, sacred ground, sacredness, Tucson Arizona, urn, urn vault, valued | 7 Comments

Ants and Uncle

Posted on August 16, 2014 by ivanbenson

OK. So yesterday didn’t end up going exactly like I wanted. I had just returned to the office after a quick trip to the bank, and had just enough time to check emails and phone messages before heading to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Stories | Tagged ant bites, antihistamine, ants, diphenhydramine, fire ants, Kafka, lidocaine, overdose, say uncle | 12 Comments

Heartland

Posted on July 15, 2014 by ivanbenson

The Canadian family television series Heartland has certainly worked its way into our hearts. And, as per our typical pattern, we are watching it for the first time a full seven years after its release (thank you, Netflix). We are … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1963, 1970s, 2005, addiction, Alberta Canada, Amber Marshall, Anaconda, anger, appreciative, Arizona, awestruck, Canadian TV series, Clint Goben, cowboy, disappointment, genuineness of heart, Graham Wardle, grief, heart, Heart Depot, Heartland, horizon, humbled, Lauren Brooke, Linda Chapman, Michelle Morgan, Minnesota, Montana, Netlfix, Randy Stinchfield, right-sized, Shaun Johnston, subterfuge, wide open spaces, www.heartdepot.org | 8 Comments

Evolution of a Design (No Doubts)

Posted on June 22, 2014 by ivanbenson

Last Wednesday I followed the cogent advice of my son-in-law: I went to http://www.99designs.com and contracted for a logo design. The process ended just after 12 noon today (Sunday). It involved creating a basic design idea, then waiting and watching … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged "Eight and Sand", "Now what are we going to do?", 1960, Arthur Blank, Bernie Marcus, design, domain name, doubt, evolution, Heart Depot, Home Depot, John F. Kennedy, jpeg, King Midas, locomotive, logo, Oval Office, psd, railroad ties, railroad track, rediscovering ties to the heart, self-evolution, son-in-law, trademark, train of thought, vectorized pdf, work in progress, www.99designs.com, www.heartdepot.org | 10 Comments

The New Normal (Riding the Pipe)

Posted on June 3, 2014 by ivanbenson

Just over 13 months ago, on Easter weekend 2013, my wife and I began a new venture – we bought two iPhones. And ever since then life has not been the same. For one thing, we ended up doing away … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1950s, 1982, 2013, adoption, Alvin Toffler, cancer, chattanooga, Easter, embolden, Facebook, Frederick Buechner, Future Shock, Hawaii, iOS 8, iPhone 4, navigate, riding the pipe, suicide, surfing the pipeline, surrender, Tennessee, the new normal, The Sacred Journey, The Third Wave, undo | 16 Comments

Sense and Sensuality

Posted on May 18, 2014 by ivanbenson

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen’s first published novel, 1811, (beautifully portrayed in the 1995 movie starring Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, and Kate Winslet), is one of the many successful stories that have made her one of the most widely … Continue reading →

Posted in Family History, Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged 1811, 1995, Alan Rickman, Archie Bunker, aselgeia, Bud Light, country music, Dionysus, Emma Thompson, Greek, Hugh Grant, Jane Austen, Jason Aldean, Jesus, Kate Winslet, licentious, New Testament, Oscar, Oscar Wilde, Plato, Plato's Republic, Ravi Zacharias, regret, Sense and Sensibility, sensuality | 5 Comments

	ivanbenson on Unfinished Tasks
	Jonah on Unfinished Tasks
	ivanbenson on The Demon of Unrest
	GP on The Demon of Unrest
	GP on It’s A Small World After…