I recently welcomed to my cubicle a new inhabitant. I have now served as cube mate and mentor (do as I say, not as I do) to all three members of a trio of twenty-something friends. When this dawned on me and I pointed it out to the newcomer, he responded by calling my little…
The Dark Night Rises—Only Light Can Pierce This Darkness.
The Dark Night Rises James Holmes, the 24 year old mass murderer, and his deadly assault on movie-goers in Aurora, Colorado has a nation mourning and searching for answers. He also has reminded us once again of the depths of depravity to which the human heart can sink. America searches for answers For now, political…
The Holly Strother Story—Holly’s Heart on Joni and Friends Television Show
Holly Strother proves that His strength is perfect In 1983, my wife Donya and I welcomed our second of three daughters into the world. We also officially became the parents of a disabled child. What we didn’t know, but would spend the next twenty-plus years learning, is that we had also become the parents of…
Things I Ain’t
I ain’t never been nowhere I didn’t go to get there I ain’t never done a thing I didn’t do [br] I ain’t never spoke a word I didn’t think of And hardly thought a word I didn’t say [br] I ain’t never owned a thing I didn’t have I ain’t never prayed a prayer…
Father Along: Precious Memories of Dad Still Linger
A few days ago, my uncle Troy Henager texted me. He said, “Father’s Day is just around the corner and I was remembering some of the things your dad used to say.” You see, Troy is only three years older than me and we both worked at D&F Battery & Electric from about the age…
Love is not a poem
[br] Love is not a feeling but nothing feels better than to love and be loved [br] Love is not an emotion but the emotions run wild, soar and ebb because of love [br] Love is not an action but no one springs to action like the one driven by love [br] Love is not…
The Pessimist’s Version of the Old Adage
Have you ever been peppered by the well-meaning “old adage” as a means of getting you out of the mulligrubs? Maybe you are enjoying your mulligrubs. Maybe you don’t want to be cheered just yet. Maybe there is a cathartic element to grumpiness that some eternally annoying optimists will never understand. So, I reworked some…
The Greybeard Chronicles: Yesterday, When I was King— or, There is No Time Like the Present
It is the habit—and the prerogative—of those of us with silver in our hair to reminisce, to rubberneck, to relish (and embellish) past heroics. I have not pastored a church since 1997. I have not suited up for a game of organized football since 1979. The further I get from the things I “used to”…
2-4-23-38-46: Numbers that shall live in infamy
2-4-23-38-46, Mega Ball 23. If your Mega Millions ticket sported that combination last night, please know that you are loathed and envied all across the Fruited Plains and from sea to shining sea. Of course, if you just won a world record jackpot, you aren’t reading this little blog. So, never mind. What a crazy…
God Bless the Lesser Lights: The Undistinguished, Unextinguished.
Lesser Lights | An Original Poem God bless the lesser lights: Those lives lived on a small scale; Those names that never lit a neon sign, Nor graced a magazine cover, But are forever etched in stone In mostly-neglected, weed-strewn tombstone; Whose memory is faded, even to those that loved them. Their time…