Word Warrior is a collection of poetry and prose. It is rife with insights, hindsight, reflections, regrets, celebrations, loss, family, friends, aching bones, breaking hearts, faith, hope, and love. The book contains a love song I wrote for Donya in 1979 and a piece of a song I wrote about a stranger when I was…
Tag: Family
Crestfallen: has honor been lost forever?
There was a time when families, like nations, flew their flags…flags that bore a crest with emblematic symbols and sometimes mottoes.
Thank God for the Patriarchy and Pocket Knives
“You say ‘Patriarchy’ like it’s a bad thing,” I said. “It is,” he replied. “The age of Toxic Masculinity has come to an end.” “Indicting masculinity because toxic males exist is like blaming pollution on oxygen.” “I don’t know what that means.” “Then ask your Dad.” I am exploring the mental database of distant memories…
Remembering Rayburn: A trip down memory lane
Dr. Rayburn Blair Eloquence and influence I have been in Tallahassee, Florida two weeks today. Hurricane Michael plowed through Florida narrowly missing its capital (leaving only scattered and mostly minor damage in the city). The ravaged coastal area of Panama City and Mexico Beach, however, are not far from here. So, here I am, doing…
Pondering while Wandering – Summer Vacation 2018 | Part One: An Inauspicious Start
The wife and I just completed our Summer vacation. It was a fun-filled, whirlwind-yet-relaxing week that took us on an 800+ mile journey from Massachusetts to Vermont to New Hampshire to Maine and back to Massachusetts. We left the triple digits of Texas for milder weather. We vacated the North Texas prairie for soaring mountains,…
My Faithful Valentine: a story of love
Last night Donya asked if I remembered what I gave her on that first Valentine’s Day we spent together. I did, sort of. I remembered I gave her a blouse or a dress or some such. (I am sure the mountainous, volatile, protective Tommy Weir was thrilled that the big-eared kid with the silk shirts…
The sun shines…even when it doesn’t
Some trips are for business; others are for pleasure. This was neither. Having just come off a lengthy business trip that also included times of fun and relaxation, my wife and I landed at DFW early Thursday morning, only to leave Friday afternoon on a trip both of us wished was not necessary. We learned…