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ron stempkowski

  • home
  • about ron
    • about ken
  • awards
    • Mountain Climbing for Beginners
  • my faves
  • publication
    • Extraordinary Healers Vol. 7
  • twisted plot paper
ron stempkowski

ron stempkowski

love, loss, healing, and humor…in no particular order

  • home
  • about ron
    • about ken
  • awards
    • Mountain Climbing for Beginners
  • my faves
  • publication
    • Extraordinary Healers Vol. 7
  • twisted plot paper
Connecting Purpose to Loss

Connecting Purpose to Loss

Posted on September 21, 2016May 14, 2022 by Ron Stempkowski
Why was I crying as I walked down the street, carrying a salad I’d picked up for lunch? No, not because I’m a moosh bag who sobs to any decently scored coffee commercial around the holida... Read More
Called On Account of Rain

Called On Account of Rain

Posted on August 19, 2016January 24, 2017 by Ron Stempkowski
As I’ve written before, I love to go camping—partly for its own sake but partly (probably mostly) because it was something Ken introduced me to. I’m not a deep woods camper, but a give me a beau... Read More
There’s No Place Like It

There’s No Place Like It

Posted on July 10, 2016January 27, 2017 by Ron Stempkowski
There is no doubt how much I love living in Chicago; how much I love my home and my neighborhood. But when I have a little time off, there is something I love about going to my hometown to see my folk... Read More
My Past and Present with Pride

My Past and Present with Pride

Posted on June 30, 2016April 22, 2017 by Ron Stempkowski
As I talked with my friends and enjoyed the community and fellowship of my first Pride event–on the Circle in Indianapolis–a man walked slowly and deliberately through the celebration. ... Read More
Safe Spaces & Being  Your Authentic Self

Safe Spaces & Being Your Authentic Self

Posted on June 23, 2016April 22, 2017 by Ron Stempkowski
While on the L heading to work last week, I received a tweet from a BBC reporter who wanted my input about why LGBT people view gay bars/clubs as safe spaces. In the wake of the Orlando shootings,... Read More
The Sanctuary of Sameness

The Sanctuary of Sameness

Posted on June 15, 2016May 14, 2022 by Ron Stempkowski
The first gay bar I ever went to in Chicago was a small but colorful neighborhood bar called Buddie’s. I’d found it wandering down Clark Street while my friend Denise, who had driven us th... Read More
Back to Class

Back to Class

Posted on May 18, 2016April 22, 2017 by Ron Stempkowski
I decided to take a writing class recently. There is an incredible writing school a couple of blocks away from my condo called Story Studio. I stumbled across it a few years ago during an open house t... Read More
Ten Years or a Blink?

Ten Years or a Blink?

Posted on May 1, 2016July 12, 2017 by Ron Stempkowski
As soon as the calendar turns to January, June 1 has traditionally been a magnet for my attention and emotion since it became the day Ken died in 2011. But this year May 1 leapt out at me. And I was s... Read More
The Ghost of Remington House

The Ghost of Remington House

Posted on February 28, 2016April 22, 2017 by Ron Stempkowski
My parents bought a Baptist Church when I was one to rehab it into our family home in the early 1970s. Growing up–upon hearing we lived in a former church–people always remarked about how... Read More
Dear, Diary...

Dear, Diary…

Posted on January 29, 2016April 22, 2017 by Ron Stempkowski
When I’m in the mood or just when I run across them on the shelf in my bedroom, I love to pull out one of my old diaries and read a few entries. It’s a portal to a different time. A different me. ... Read More
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