This is a written confession, a mia culpa. I give myself writing projects because I want to hold myself accountable. Wednesday Noon is one example of the accountability effort. This assures that I will write something every week. Like any other skill, writing improves with practice and exercise. The singer, painter, sculptor, and dancer improve…
Author: Gene
Got Them Theme Park Blues
Rollercoaster, RollercoasterGive me a rideMake me highDrop me lowToss me toToss me fro Rollercoaster, RollercoasterHere’s an asideYou’re no journeyYou’re just a rideNo place to goNor abide Rollercoaster, RollercoasterI can’t decideYou make some fussWhile you go nowhereBut you wanna take usAnd that’s not fair Rollercoaster, RollercoasterMy nerves are friedI’ll sit this one outMy familiar friendI’ve no…
Why Me, Lord: the unexpected theology lesson from Kris Kristofferson
Saying I grew up in a conservative Baptist church is the same kind of understatement as saying Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups®are the perfect blend of chocolate and peanut butter. We were suspicious of conservatives who adhered to fewer “standards” than we did…and those standards were high, let me tell you. Why me Lord, what have…
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.
My Success Story
If success is a storyThen let me tell mineThough the road to gloryHas been a hard ride The money’s been tightAnd the troubles aplentyHadn’t it been for bad luckI’d not have had any I’ve been down more than upI’ve been out more than inI drain the bitter cupThen fill it again I’ve walked on glassWhen…
To be somebody
Some folks want to be somebody while others just want somebody to be. Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring. 2Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth” a stranger, not your own lips. 3A stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the resentment caused by a…
Top 10 Things I Love about my Mom
Top 10 things about my Mom: Faith. I have called her the true believer so many times, and that is what she is. Mom was, in her day, a powerful alto singer. She had that Adelle quality voice before there was an Adelle. A few songs I cannot hear without hearing my Mom sing them….
Writing in pencil gives you wings, but the ink in the inkwell of life is indelible
Forget Red Bull. Blackwing gives you wings. Getting ready for a big moment today, I hauled out my trusty Blackwing 602 lead pencil and scratched More than a year ago, Donya bought me a box of these special pencils used by some of America’s great writers and sketchers. I wrote about it here. And here’s…
Sixty-one years to Wednesday: a traveler’s guide to life from a misguided traveler
Today, we are 61 years removed from September 28, 1961. That maybe means more to me than most. In 1961, President Eisenhower left the White House in the care of President-elect John F. Kennedy, who urged Americans to Ask not what your country can do for you (Apparently, his Democratic successors were not paying attention,…
Vapor: the impossible brevity of everything!
Vapor… I don’t care if you are the modern version of Methuselah, you are only here for a little while. A very little while. I try not to think about that every day but every now and then I do, and all the more frequently since my July 4th near-miss heart attack.
A very little while, indeed.