What if a moment was “the last time?” Selling a home means walking out of the front door for the last time. It is known and expected. But what about the unplanned “last times?” When my dad died ten years ago, he died suddenly. I spent the afternoon with him, taking him for a haircut and making out Christmas checks. If I [...]
God poses a question to a struggling prophet on Mt. Horeb. It is also one he asks each of us every day. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah the prophet ran away from his most significant victory, fearing for his life at the hands of bloodthirsty Queen Jezebel. He came to the mountain, afraid and depressed. A cave became his refuge from the [...]
I have found that life’s dictionary is missing something. It lacks the word “should.” We say “should” many times. People should adore me (after all, what is there not to love?). I should get the job I want or the raise I deserve. And then daily life says, “I’m sorry. What does “should” mean?” Life teaches its best lessons in the worst [...]
Like any sane person, I felt a stomach-churning feeling watching the events unfold at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. When third and fourth graders go to school and come out in body bags, nothing can explain it. In the aftermath, politicians dodge hardball questions, engage in circus-worthy publicity stunts, and, in the end, will kick the can down the road.In 2018, pure evil descended [...]
Life presents us with moments when the question is, “how long.” It’s on the lips of parents standing over a feverish child. Someone in line for a job feels tension and wants to know the outcome. How long? It can be as mundane as taxes or graduation or as intense as adoption or cancer. The question is still the same. How long? [...]
On May 15, 1976, two young people (who probably did not know much) got married. The ceremony was memorable. It took two preachers, and two trips by an absent-minded caterer before the service could start…45 minutes late. The night was memorable for many reasons. It included cold hamburgers from room service that closed early and car problems. The two people were my [...]
Throughout my life, three mothers walked down the street of my life. The first was my mother, who gave me birth and raised me. She left the earth too soon, 19 years ago. The second is my wife, who gave birth to our two daughters and raised them. The final is my two daughters, who now have children of their own, our [...]
My golf bag holds a nine iron that doesn’t belong to me. I don’t know who owns it, but I know something about who does. I found it in the high bushes beside the walking path adjacent to the golf course. It did not get there the way an errant golf ball ended up in the grass. Instead, I suspect the owner, [...]
Why do you know what you know? Pliny the Elder (who perished at Pompeii in the eruption of Vesuvius) wrote what was considered the first encyclopedia called Natural History. In it, he described creatures such as a man with a dog’s head, one-eyed humans, and dwarf-like creatures with a single food protruding from the center of their bodies. Most accepted Pliny’s descriptions [...]
On a former grave plot, the Greeks established Delphi eight centuries before Jesus’ birth. The new temple boasted the “Oracle,” the message from the mythical Apollo about the future’s successes…and failures. Seedy sides of towns host séances. Weird women in robes turn over tarot cards to “discern” the spirits. It even became child’s play with Magic 8 Balls (shaken to give yes, [...]
