At morning coffee a few weeks ago with Joel, one of my oldest and dearest friends, our conversation covered more than a dozen topics. The topic I’m still stuck on is ritual. I’ve been thinking about ritual a lot these days. I believe that we’re living in a ritually impoverished world and that’s why so many of us feel a bit empty. We say that we don’t need rituals, don’t have time for them, don’t like them. They’re boring, contrived or too formal. They make us uncomfortable be

It’s bad form to whine but I’m feeling really cranky. I think I’ve got a legitimate complaint. We’re three days away from Presidents’ Day and the only evidence of the holiday is that some people get a long weekend, the commercials on TV selling everything from furniture to cars, and the shopping specials cramming my email in-box. I happen to think the tiny Abe Lincoln look alike jamming in front of his school locker for the J C Penney ad is funny, but it still annoys me tha