A collection of the best columns written over the past three decades by Fr. Bernard Reiser, founding pastor of Epiphany Catholic Church in Coon Rapids, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, MN. Read about Fr. Reiser's take on everyday topics such as family, kindness, gratitude, prayer, helping others, and staying focused on what's important in life. Fr. Reiser's essays are rich in symbolism, wise in understanding of human nature, and fruitful in explicating the word of God.Father is a master in the art of spiritual storytelling; he engages, entertains, and challenges with undeniable hope. He has a gift and he shares it generously in this lovely book. Included are stories with the deep conviction that our human journey and our spiritual journey are intrinsically linked. He shares observations that are sometimes so wondrously obvious and visible, and he does it in a way that feels like you're hearing from a close friend.It becomes clear as you page through Reiser's Ramblings that Fr. Reiser clearly loves his vocation as a priest and delights in sharing his years of study and the fruits of his prayer with the reader. Fr. Reiser opens up the Scripture in familiar language, stories, and metaphors that are accessible to the ordinary person in the pew. How uplifting and inspiring to hear the Gospel woven with from Father's personal life experiences! All profits from the sale of Reiser's Ramblings go to Haitian relief efforts sponsored by Reiser Relief Inc. (ReiserRelief.org)

A sentimental tribute - a memorial hardcover edition published in Oct 2012. A lovely book of short, easily read reminiscences and edifying stories and thoughts. If you are one of those people who engages in daily devotionals, this book would be a lovely addition to that time in your day. Sort of like a combination of listening to your Grandfather's stories, and advice and a visit with your spiritual leader. Father Reiser Writes With Passion, Conviction and Confidence… I would like to invite you to join me on a spiritual journey that is inspiring, illuminating and heartening. Fr. Bernard Reiser is clearly a man who loves God, family, the church community, and a good bowl of ice cream. For nearly forty years, Reiser served as the beloved founding pastor at Epiphany parish in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, where he penned his thoughts and life stories for a column in the weekly bulletin. His words were so well received, that after his retirement he purposefully assembled the best of his writing into a collective volume.Each included column is like a shared meditation as Reiser touches on topics as varied as nature's beauty, baseball, gratitude, teamwork, marriage, and eternity. The author's musings and personal reminiscences are often thought-provoking and infused with simple messages meant to inspire each reader's own spiritual ponderings. From life on the family farm, to a life in the priesthood, Reiser draws on a wealth of experience for his writing. Valuable life lessons were extracted from both common everyday situations, as well as those related to his ecclesiastical duties. Inspiration also came from Reiser's journey around the globe. In particular he reflects on his visit to Haiti, a country whose poverty he classifies as "Fourth World." The author was so moved by Haiti's plight that in a selfless gesture he founded Reiser Relief, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the people of the impoverished Caribbean country. Indicative of Reiser's generous heart and spirit, all profits from the sale of his Ramblings will go to the Haitian relief effort.

Ramblings of a Charmed Circle Flyfisher retraces over forty years of fly fishing the Catskill mountains first inspired by a two-part magazine article published in the spring of 1969. Cecil E. Heacoxs articles entitled Charmed Circle of the Catskills appeared in the March and April issues of Outdoor Life. Heacox wrote about several legendary Catskill Mountain trout streams informing the reader why they were charmed. Ostapczuk has been retracing Heacoxs journey ever since, taking his readers along on the journey.

This starts with the early post WWII years when Robert and Gordon, as young men, were first attracted to the outdoors. They hiked and climbed in the mountains of the Scottish Highlands and often slept in caves, barns, bothies and tents in both summer and winter. They made friends and climbed with many of the emerging group of mainly working class rock climbers who were pioneering ascents of the cliffs and gullies in Glencoe and Ben Nevis at that time. Their week-end adventures had them ranging across the wild moors, glens and mountains in all seasons and in all weathers. As the years passed, their lives changed. One became a youth hostel warden in N.W. Scotland, later becoming a gamekeeper and ghillie on an estate in Assynt. The other went overseas as a teacher, first to Algeria then to Saudi Arabia and finally Brunei S.E. Asia, where he stayed for nearly thirty years. The two men lost touch with each other for over forty years. At that point they met again and, while re-calling their youthful ramblings and catching up on one another’s later adventures, came to realise the uniqueness of their lives. From these two kinds of rambling comes this fascinating book.

The classic New York Times bestseller from actor/comedian Paul Reiser, a book that the San Francisco Chronicle calls “an out-loud laugh on every page,” is now available in trade paperback for the very first time. For fans of Reiser’s long-running sitcom Mad About You, with Helen Hunt and Hank Azaria, for readers of comic memoirs like Tina Fey’s Bossypants, and “for the couple considering parenthood as well as for parents who are decades past their days of diaper changing…this book hits home and hits the funnybone" (Chicago Tribune).