Tom Keefe

Spirited Communication

Category: General

My high school ID

Why I’m skipping my 50th high school reunion

July 21, 2026 / / 0 Comments

As if I need reminders that time marches on, in two weeks I celebrate my 68th birthday—and that weekend, former high school classmates will gather for a 50-year reunion.

My high school classmates and I prepare for the annual 2-mile run. I’m standing to the right of the coach.

I’m not attending the reunion mostly for financial reasons (I’m looking for work and can’t justify the travel expenses). I’ve only made a handful of these high school reunions over the years, and have kept in occasional touch with three of my former classmates.

Since graduating high school and college, my 40-year career in communications has mirrored the good and bad of the U.S. economy: Promotions, bonuses, challenging work; but also downsizing, unemployment and lately, ageism.

By the world’s standards, I’ve led an ordinary life. My wife and I are still married after 37 years (unless I blow it between now and October). We have a son who has built a solid career as an electrician in Nebraska and a daughter who is completing her Master’s Degree and excels in her full-time job at the University of Arizona. We have three grand-dogs who keep us amused and busy.

Some of my former high school classmates retired long ago. I want to keep producing quality work for at least a few more years. By skipping the reunion I won’t feel like I have to explain why retirement isn’t the right option for me today.

The conversations at past reunions I attended centered mostly around retelling stories of the “glory days,” and assessing each other’s successes in work and life. The 68-year-old version of Tom has a much more sober appraisal of what is important in life. I don’t regret my high school past but I have moved on.

It probably does not surprise many that even though Quigley Preparatory Seminary North was a Catholic high school serving as a feeder pipeline for the priesthood, at past reunions none of my former classmates seemed interested in talking about faith and their thoughts on spirituality.

I can see the eyes rolling if I would start a conversation about faith and what happens when we die. I get that most people don’t want to think about dying, but it is a fact of life.

My Christian faith has deepened significantly over the past two decades. In recent years, I’ve paid particular attention to the message Jesus gave to his disciples:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23, New International Version).

That is a warning from Jesus to so-called “believers” that lip service and religious activity won’t save anyone. Salvation in the kingdom of heaven requires an authentic, personal relationship with God and obedience to His will.

I grieve that former classmates may be in danger of eternity in hell, and they don’t believe that is a possibility. We all make choices that define our lives and legacy. Life is too short to ignore the important things and spend time on the superficial.

That’s a message I would want to share with my former classmates, but I don’t think it would be received well.

Weather Choices and Consequences

January 18, 2025 /

It’s been 18 years since I posted about the disbelief of me and coworkers in Illinois upon hearing that a light snow and ice event in Portland, Ore. led to the temporary emergency closure of our office there.

I thought about that post today while my daughter and I walked our three dogs in beautiful 63-degree weather in Arizona. My wife earlier today told me that friends in Illinois were bracing for a cold snap that was punishing a wide swath of the United States.

These were the same friends who questioned our decision to move last summer to Arizona and endure temperatures that regularly exceeded 100 degrees.

Life is about choices, and every choice comes with consequences and requires adjustments. People endure consequences of their decisions where to live and work—including the thousands impacted recently by the California wildfires.

I still make choices regarding work, family life, faith and personal challenges. The choices have narrowed and become easier to discern over decades of living and commitments I have made. But every year brings new choices that stretch me.

This blog and its predecessors have allowed me to trace the journey that life and my choices put before me. I don’t document that journey often enough, but like a gorgeous, sunny January day, I feel grateful when opportunity and creativity come together to birth another post.

Considering the right of abortion

September 18, 2024 /

Legalized abortion in the United States has been a contentious and polarizing issue for more than 50 years. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, it has become a top issue in elections from the U.S. President to local state and county offices.

Abortion defined
Merriam-Webster defines abortion as “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus: such as a: spontaneous expulsion of a human fetus during the first 12 weeks of gestation b: induced expulsion of a human fetus.
“Abortion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abortion. Accessed 18 Sep. 2024.

Abortion in my life
My wife and I experienced abortion in the early 1990s. It was the “natural kind,” meaning that we didn’t want it to happen, but something went wrong. Doctors would call the 2-1/2 month-old a “fetus.” We called it our baby, and I felt deep loss.

Of course, the controversy today is over abortions where a parent decides to terminate a pregnancy where the baby/fetus is otherwise viable. People who are pro-abortion focus mainly on the right of a woman to make medical decisions that impact her body. People who are anti-abortion see the unborn life as having an innate right to survive.

When society considers the “right” of abortion, we make legal and moral judgments. Should individuals have the legal right to end a pregnancy? Is the life within a woman more than a mass of developing tissue?

I wept for the loss of a child 30 years ago. I weep today for the people who have made a difficult decision to have an abortion. I mourn the loss of so many potentially impactful lives that were cut short.

When I complete my ballot this year for national and local candidates, their views on abortion cannot be my only litmus test. Our nation is struggling in many areas, and we face many issues that require true leadership to tackle.

I will vote because that is both a right and a responsibility in the United States. No political party has consistently demonstrated commitments to every ideal I hold dear. So I will judge each candidate on the totality of their background, ideas and accomplishments.

As you consider your votes, will you struggle like I do with making decisions based on not only what is “best,” but what is “right”?

Forgetting Corporate History

July 27, 2024 /
Mergers and acquisitions too often lead to breaks in the chain of corporate history.

We sometimes talk about the impossibility of being completely honest by asking questions such as, “Have you ever taken a paper clip or pen from work? If so, you are a thief!” But during business mergers, acquisitions and liquidations, something much greater is lost: corporate history.

I’ve worked at a couple of organizations that completed one or more mergers or acquisitions. After talking with some people who were “merged” or “acquired,” I got the impression that one of the most disappointing aspects for them was seeing how their company history no longer seemed relevant or useful to their new leadership.

This photo was taken more than 20 years ago to commemorate the expansion of a paper machine at the Fort James Corporation Savannah River Mill near Rincon, GA. I came across it recently when I cleaned a closet in my home office. It would have been tossed into a dumpster long ago if I had not decided to keep it years before.

The photo was sent in the late 1990s to Fort James executives in the Deerfield, IL headquarters, and soon found its way to the company’s Corporate Communications Department, where I worked. As with many such photos and trinkets from corporate events, the photo was displayed prominently for a short time, and then moved into a storage closet.

We came across it early in 2001 following Georgia Pacific’s acquisition of Fort James. We were packing material to send to the GP communications staff. But they didn’t want the photos we had collected. Their focus was on GP; the history of Fort James was not important enough to worry about at the time.

As we disposed of our files that were not wanted by our GP counterparts, I came across this photo. The consensus of the communications staff was that GP would not care for it. I liked the image, was impressed by seeing these large machines in action, and asked to keep the photo. No objections from my manager, so I kept that piece of company history alive for a time.

Corporate history is so much more than old photos and files. Think of the “institutional knowledge” that walks out of companies when someone retires, leaves for a new company, or dies. Operational playbooks can help cover the knowledge gap, but usually not without a degree of confusion and mistakes.

Are those who forget corporate history doomed to repeat it? Not always, however productivity and competitiveness can be hampered by employees and leaders who “don’t know what they don’t know.”

I don’t worship the creation

April 8, 2024 /

So much attention has been given lately to the solar eclipse happening today that it would be easy to think that the event itself is significant. It’s not.

I’m not saying that I won’t try to be outside when the eclipse is nearing totality. It will be fun to experience. I’m saying that the movement of the Earth, moon and sun that will result in this alignment was put into motion by a God who deserves the glory and honor.

I would love to know that every thrill-seeking person who will don protective eyewear and gaze into the eclipse would reflect on the majesty of the Creator. But many don’t think–or believe–that God exists or cares about them.

If that is you, I respect your feelings and beliefs. I have to say that I can’t comprehend how someone can look at this world, this universe, and see the logic in the theory that it began out of nothing, evolved into its current state by random chance, and operates unguided with a precision and logic that allows us to accurately predict events like the eclipse. How could all of that be true without a Creator putting them into place?

Today, like every day, I will worship the Creator, not the creation.

Tangled power cords

Getting Untangled

January 13, 2024 /

This week I brought in my Christmas decorations from outside my home and the power cords and timers that I used to light them at the appropriate time. I only had a short time to do that and so I piled the decorations, cords and timers on a workbench in my garage.

Today I finished packing the decorations and cords. When I looked at one 100-ft. power cord, I saw it was a tangled mess.

The cord was still functional; if I plugged it in it would provide power to whatever I plugged into the other end. But because it was tangled, it was more difficult to use. It couldn’t stretch to the distance that it was made to reach.

Isn’t that like us when we get tangled up in emotional and spiritual dilemmas? We can’t stretch ourselves to think and do some things that we are made to tackle.

Just like I had to work to untangle the power cord, we sometimes have to untangle our hurts, habits and hangups with the help of friends, family or professionals.

I felt so much better when the power cord was neatly wrapped around the holder. If you’re feeling tangled up today, use your faith, friends and family to begin loosening whatever is entangling you.

An uncluttered home, mind and soul is so freeing!

sunrise from Caitlyn Keefe's kitchen window
(c) 2024 Thomas Keefe

New Day, New Year

January 1, 2024 /

This is the view that I captured this morning from my daughter’s kitchen window in Tucson, AZ. What a magnificent image that captures the awe and excitement of the new year.

Regardless of whether or not you set resolutions for 2024, each day will bring opportunities and challenges, beauty and sorrow, activity and rest.

I’ve recently had a spiritual boost by joining a Christian church that brings a powerful worship experience and relevant sermons soaked in biblical truth. My 2024 will include intentional effort to walk closer with my Lord and to appreciate His many blessings, including sunrises and sunsets.

Happy New Day and New Year!

© 2026 Tom Keefe

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