In the midst of uncertain times, there is always opportunity for alarm. The economy appears to be at risk, and you learn a coworker was just let go. Your next thought may naturally be, “Am I next?” The unrestrained mind can race far down a negative path in an instant. Before you know it, you’ve …
Never having been a coffee drinker, I don’t tend to meet up with people for java. My favorite way to connect with another guy is to go for a walk on a trail. One friend I enjoy walking with told me he recently got some new walking shoes that make him feel like he’s gliding. I …
Decades ago, I sang in our high school’s choral group. One evening I drove two other members to a nursing home where we would sing. None of us had been there before and (as this was in the 70’s) we only had written instructions—no Siri or cell phones. I had a terrible sense of direction …
A new internet company laid fiber optic cable in our neighborhood last winter, digging deep holes for junction boxes between every home. They eventually came back and patched the grass they’d dug up with new sod around the junction access lids. Walking through our neighborhood this summer, I noticed many of these nicely laid pieces …
In the 1970s the world was introduced to the game Dungeons and Dragons. In this (sometimes addictive) role-playing game, each player takes on the persona of an imaginary character, interacting with other characters in various situations, with the goal of gaining power over obstacles and others in a fantasy world. Never having played it myself, …
There are some things you just have to do. You don’t necessarily do them because you want to, but because you know you should, or you somehow feel obligated. Websters defines obligation using words like duty, responsibility, and demands of conscience or custom. Maybe you made a promise, or you were committed by someone else, …
As newlyweds we lived in a third-floor apartment. One floor below us lived a fellow who liked to play an electric guitar which boomed through the walls and floor, posing a definite distraction. It was one of those features of sharing a roof that made us eager to buy a house, a feat we we thankfully achieved …
The longer I live, the less inclined I am to delve into politics. Too often to my eyes and ears politicians spend most of their time patting themselves on the back and sounding like the “Wah, wah, wah…” of Charlie Brown’s cartoon teacher. I do, however, get excited thinking about law–God’s law, that is–and why …
“Put your hands up! We’ve got you surrounded!” These words, familiar in films, usually indicate the end of a struggle, a prelude to surrender, where one side has overcome the other. They typically signal victory for one and decisive defeat for the other. And in those where the protagonists find themselves surrounded and the enemy …
For whatever reason two little sayings I learned from my dad’s Navy days have stuck with me. The first told the proper way to eat soup! “As little ships sail out to sea, I dip my spoon away from me!” The second explained how sailors used the skies to inform their plans. “Red sky at …
