Episode 3 – Keep on rollin’

Sam pushing Richard in a wheelchair in the Morris Arboretum — Richard’s grandson Sam pushing him in his wheelchair in the Morris Arboretum

Richard and his teenage grandson Sam sing popular songs from an earlier era as Sam pushes his 95-year-old grandfather in a wheelchair at the Morris Arboretum outside of Philly. Margaret’s sister Erika and her 8-year-old nephew Ben are here too. On a park bench, Erika and Richard talk about how he and and his wife Eunice helped Sam, who was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in the first grade, come into his own.

Keeping Dad Alive

Conversations between a dad and his children capture the sheer joy of talking, singing, and laughing with Richard, a man of simple pleasures, expansive intelligence, historical perspective, and progressive politics. In Season 1, Richard is living under lockdown in his senior living residence during the coronavirus pandemic. It tells the story of Richard’s resilience and of the family’s efforts to ease the psychic impact of his isolation. In Season 2, Margaret asks Richard why he talked so much about vocation when she was growing up. Richard offers the wide arc of his theological understanding—from the need to care for working people to the cosmic Spirit that holds the universe together. They decided to devote an entire podcast season to vocation.

Episode 3 – Keep on rollin’

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