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…
An Old Preacher’s Admonition: Please, Quit!
Years ago, when I was a young pastor in California, some well-meaning chowderhead gave me a book titled, Dear Preacher, Please Quit! (If you were that chowderhead, I apologize…for not telling you sooner.) The book’s author was no Rhodes’ scholar. Nor was he much of a theologian. Nor was he a writer. His name…
The Greybeard Chronicles: Why I said nothing at the moment of truth
What will you do when standing up means standing out? It is easy to talk tough until it is tough to talk. Everybody is ready to do something until something must be done. The reason we revere the founders of America is because they pledged everything their lives, their lands, their liberties for a…
The GreyBeard Chronicles: “Do I Disappoint You, God?”
I was speaking with a Christian friend yesterday. She said, “I think I am such a disappointment to God.” To this, I replied, “No, you are not.” It is, I believe, impossible to disappoint God. We may displease Him, but we cannot disappoint Him. Disappointment is born of unfulfilled expectations. We anticipate a certain day…
What Do You Do When the Life has Gone Out of the Life of the Party?
Susanna Kim of ABC News has written a sad, sorry story about former NFL sensation Terrell Owens. Terrell Owens was despised by almost every fan of every team on which he did not play and by many on the teams on which he did. He was seen as selfish, self-centered, a Prima Donna. In…
Irony (or Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire)
I don’t miss you when we’re apart. I am just as well without you. I don’t need your approval. Your opinion doesn’t matter to me. You’re just another pretty face. There are plenty of fish in the sea. You aren’t the best thing about me. My every heartbeat doesn’t echo your name. I won’t love…
12-Step Program for Making the Most of 2012
Smell that? It’s the freshy fresh freshness of a brand new year. Happy New Year, everyone! I don’t know about you, but I always approach a brand new year with the nervousness of a kid opening his “big” present on Christmas morning. You know what I mean, right? That kid braces himself for disappointment,…
The Greybeard Chronicles| Christmas, 2011: Too Soon Past
Seven months and counting. That is how long I have been away from home now, working in Mobile, Alabama, doing my thing or, what passes for “my thing” until I can really do my thing. I came in May and now it is almost January. I would ask where the time went, but a…