Home About us Daily Reflections Special Issues Publications Ecospirituality Through The Seasons Donate Environmental Resource Assessment Service   The Latch String Is Out by Al Fritsch, S.J.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary: Definition: \Latch"string`\, n. A string for raising the latch of a door by a person outside. It is fastened to the latch and passed through a hole above it in the door. {To find the latchstring out}, to meet with hospitality; to be welcome. (Intrusion is prevented by drawing in the latchstring.) [Colloq. U.S.]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Romping Around and Exploring the Home Place: Ecos

1 Washington, Kentucky, My First Sense of Place
2 Being a Depression Baby 
3 Exploring My Local Environment 
4 Remembering Early Personal History
5 Experiencing the Ohio River Flood
6 Choosing My Spirit Creature
7 Awakening to the God Within 
8 Celebrating Feast Days 
9 Riding the School Bus
10 Raisin' Tobacco
11 Observing the POWs 
12 Picking Fruits & Berries
13 Respecting the Sacred Through Service 
14 Replacing Horses with a Tractor
15 Internalizing a Conservation Ethic
16 Arguing "Bread-and-Butter" Politics
17 Acquiring a Sense of the Seasons 
18 Learning from the Great Snowstorm of 1950 

Hearing a Call and Learning about the Wider Environment

19 Gaining Confidence through Construction Work
20 Debating, Voting, and Acting Politically
21 Delving into Science's Mysteries
22 Having Wheels, Will Travel
23 Listening to God's Call
24 Making The Spiritual Exercises
25 Delving into the Classics
26 Unlocking Treasures by Reading
27 Jogging and Other Physical Exercises
28 Focusing on Philosophy
29 Deepening a Sense of Excitement
30 Acclimating to Urban Life
31 Remembering Where I Was When JFK Died
32 Going from City to the Great Plains
33 Integrating Theology in our World
34 Confronting Vietnam War Issues

Establishing Goals in the Public Interest

35 Being Clergy without being Clerical
36 Serving Students and Hospital Patients
37 Doing Research at the University of Texas 
38 Becoming Aware of the Environmental Crisis
39 Founding Public Interest Science
40 Going to a Global Forum
41 Exposing Aerosol Sprays & Asbestos
42 Championing 99 Ways to a Simple Lifestyle
43 Managing Solid Waste 
44 Creating Simple Lifestyle Calendars 
45 This Land is Home to Me
46 Organizing a Toxic Substances & Trade Secrecy Conference 
47 Finding God in the Natural World
48 Advocating for Appropriate Technology
49 Saying "No" to Nuclear Power
50 Presenting Solar Energy to the World
51 Building an Affordable House 
52 Assessing Environmental Resources

Sharing My Personal Experiences with Others

53 Solving only Real Puzzles
54 Striving for an Ecumenism of Earthlings
55 Coping with Rockcastle Disasters
56 Fighting Fires and ATVs
57 Remaining a Christian Radical
58 Conducting Solar Cooker Projects
59 Empowering Others by the Spoken Word
60 Expanding Holy Land to Holy Earth
61 Championing Resurrection-Centered Spirituality
62 Searching for God in Sacred Space 
63 Touching the Earth through Gardening
64 Healing the Earth
65 Highlighting Appalachian Natural Treasures
66 Aging Gracefully
67 Respecting the Land
68 Looking into the 21st Century
69 Reflecting on the Attack on America



The Latch String is Out -- Copyright © 2002 by Al Fritsch