For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. -The Apostle Paul to the church at Philippi, Philippians 1:21, the Holy Bible For most Americans, Independence Day 2022 will be remembered as a day of tragedy and triumph. The triumph of the American ideal of ‘liberty for all’ continues to hold sway…
42
Today marks our 42nd wedding anniversary, Donya and me. Forty-two years of marriage. Forty-two years of marriage. Forty-two! My good friend and coworker Keith Craft, when teaching someone about something that is difficult to accomplish, likes to say, ‘It sounds easy if you say it real fast.’ I don’t know if you can say 42…
Poller Opposites: How pollsters, polls and “popular opinion” manipulate us
“There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.” Mark Twain It starts with peer pressure There is no pressure like peer pressure. ‘Everyone is doing it’ is more than a young teen’s cry when trying to get by with wearing a too-short skirt or drinking or smoking weed at a party. It is the pressure we…
Lessons about longshots and losses from kids I know who aren’t kids anymore
“Out of the mouths of babes…” He is my baby sister’s only son. My sister is seventeen years my junior. Our father was gone well before she was grown and married…thus way before Zac, her son, was born. Zac grew up under the influence of a father who struggled with alcohol, drug, and various other…
The Mayor of Greenhill Villas
I went to see Mom the day before Mother’s Day. She was in high spirits and, as always, so grateful for the visit and the gifts I brought. While we ate lunch with my baby sister and her crew, one of mom’s friends, the lady with the walker, who is, you better believe, a walker. She motors and weaves about that large facility from stem to stern and back again. Mom noted she was especially unsteady that day. She seemed distraught. Mom called her over.
“Happy Mother’s Day, baby girl,” Mom said to this woman who is her contemporary in age..
The lady burst into tears.
What do Pharisees and Woke Folk have in common?
I was thinking the other day, as I read about another woke person getting trapped in her wokeness and being fileted by the people she was trying to impress, just how familiar that seemed. I was raised in a traditional Christian home, a fundamentalist Baptist home. I do not regret that one bit. On that…
The worst Thanksgiving prayer
Did you ever see a Thanksgiving social media prayer that looked like a brag montage? They are just so thankful that they are so wonderful and blessed with such skills, beauty, and excellence. It’s basically a (somewhat) subtler version of the NFL’s notorious Terrell Owens’ declaration, “I love me some me!”
The screaming of the crickets
A couple of weeks ago, my ear started ringing or whistling or screaming. I have struggled to describe it perfectly. It is a constant high-pitched sound that never ceases. The best description I can come up with is this: It sounds like a screaming, pissed-off cricket is trapped under my eardrum.
Living dogs and dead lions: where there is hope there is life
“3This is the tragedy of everything that happens under the sun: Everyone shares the same destiny. Moreover, the hearts of mortals are full of evil. Madness is in their hearts while they are still alive. After that, they join the dead. 4But all who are among the living have hope, because a living dog is…
What Time is it? No, wait. What IS Time?
“What is time? Friend… Or Foe? Teacher… Or Tyrant? Ally… Or Adversary? Blessing… Or Curse? Beginning… Or end? Yes. Yes, it is.”— The JourneyMan, 12/31/2020 Nothing brings to mind the meaning and passing of time quite like the flipping of the calendar. When a new year dawns, I feel mortal and hopeful. I feel the…