About 300,000 people move out of Illinois every year, for a net loss of 116,000. We are moving out of Illinois. About 226, 000 people move to Tennessee every year. The net gain is 43,000. We are moving to Tennessee. I have a few people to “blame” for this: My… Continue reading
When I pray and when I think, I tend to labor over what is wrong, what needs to be fixed. These are the black specks on the blank piece of white paper. I focus on what’s wrong with other people and especially what’s wrong with me, and, of course, what’s… Continue reading
It is so easy to enumerate what I am done with when it comes to religion. It is profoundly more difficult to figure out what to hang onto. I feel like I should occasionally ask myself that question to see if I am total heretic or just a free spirit. … Continue reading
I feel like I need to write a disclaimer every time I write a post that is critical of the institutional church. I write about my experience over several decades, both very much inside the church and outside of it. I am not mad at anybody. There are no “sour… Continue reading
This is one of the easiest and most cathartic posts I have ever written. It’s easy because I can clearly catalog the characteristics of evangelical religion that are distasteful to me. Since I write this at the peak fervor of our presidential campaign, Evangelical entanglement with politics immediately comes to… Continue reading
It has been a long while since I have posted here and I have missed it. I realize that my readers come from different perspectives and some of the posts I put up are not exactly their cup of tea. A long time ago, I went through my social media… Continue reading
Finally, a little time to think, and pray. God made an unassuming entrance into our little world. The creator became the creation. You would think his entrance would have been grandiose. Instead, it was humiliating. He was born into a blue color, working class family. It was a really bad… Continue reading
In a few short weeks, we got a new great grandchild, have another family member facing a surgery that we pray literally gives her a new lease on life, and some serious drama and trauma. Along with that, Patty and I worked our retirement gigs really hard in the last… Continue reading
Sometimes Christmas is a real disappointment. It can fall flat for a lot of reasons: too much family drama, an empty chair at the table, or simply too much to do. But our minds nurture a Hallmark-esque picture that is about as real as a greeting card and their sappy,… Continue reading
I am grateful that I am doing pretty darn well. Physically, there are little signs of aging, but nothing chronic like so many of my contemporaries are dealing with. Financially, doing okay. This retirement thing might just work out. Finally, we have our home fixed up pretty much like we… Continue reading
He was a comedian that played a teacher on a TV show whose character went on tirade about corruption in the country’s government. The tirade went viral on social media, and he was elected president of the country. That was a TV show. Now that same actor/comedian is the actual… Continue reading
John 20-21 Each mealtime has a special feeling to it. Breakfast is refreshing because it has been a long time since dinner. In our day, many people skip it or eat a pop tart on the way to work. Almost never does someone fix breakfast for you. So, when we have… Continue reading
I have been blessed with good health and hardly ever get ill. Now that I am an old man, some things don’t work quite as good as they used to, but I really don’t have anything to complain about. I don’t have any of the chronic conditions that many of… Continue reading
What does it mean when your parents die? How about when their whole generation has moved on to the next life? My Mom passed away two days before Christmas, so I am trying to figure that out. She was the last of her generation in our family as she joined… Continue reading
Hallelujah Spring at last Well, sort of A little snow yet Probably Its arrival Oh, so gradual Clouds and rain Something between Terrible and nice Still undeniable Birdsong Robins Tulips Budding trees Warming Blooming Reinvigorating Rebirth Hope Continue reading
I was tired. Really tired! I might even have experienced heat exhaustion. Anyway, it was hot, ninety-five degrees to be exact, and I was exhausted. Moving dirt, laying sod and pushing a lawn roller filled with water is hard work even when it is not scorching. But I feel fulfilled… Continue reading
We should have known Poised, ready to pounce Shocked by the audacity Grieved by the brutality This living room war This you tube terror These people like us All we do is discuss As we watch at a safe distance. Every night bloody bodies Scores, hundreds, thousands Soldiers, mothers, children … Continue reading
Or is exclusive. And is inclusive. Or makes enemies. And makes friends. Or gets its way or blocks the way. And gives a little, learns a lot, and finds a way. Or vilifies. And reaches out. Or believes it has the truth. And believes there is more to learn. Or is a false… Continue reading
I have lived through so many international conflicts. The Cuban Missile Crisis – Even as a small child, I understood the threat of Russian supplied ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads ninety miles from our shore. The Cold War – In school we had drills in which we went to the… Continue reading
When you get married, you not only marry your wife or your husband, but you are also grafted into each other’s family, and their traditions. One of Patty’s family’s Memorial Day traditions was to visit the various small town cemeteries where loved ones were buried to place flowers on their… Continue reading
She looks so much like us. Except she is not trying to decide where the family is going out to eat tonight or what they are going to watch on their streaming TV service. Instead, she shelters in a basement, overcrowded, with no bathrooms, and enough food for only one… Continue reading
“Follower of Jesus” is the new cooler way to say “Christian”, a word loaded with centuries of baggage that no longer seems very Christian. Yet, “follower of Jesus” sounds a little smug to me. It reminds of those church-goers in ancient Corinth who weren’t in the camp of Paul or… Continue reading
A few years ago, I was having some back pain, so the doctor ordered some x-rays. A couple of days later someone from his office who was probably about the age of my favorite sweater called to inform I had osteo arthritis. I was taken aback by this news and… Continue reading
From the archives. This snowy winter day seemed like a good time to remember a warmer, more hospitable time and place. The Gulf of Mexico makes a great backyard, though it’s a lot different than life on the Wisconsin/Illinois border near the perpetual chill of Lake Michigan. Palm trees replaced… Continue reading
Sunday, June 20th, 2021, was a good day. It was after all, Father’s Day. Later in the day we were going over to my son’s for one our raucous family gatherings. So, I had time to hang my new backyard party lights, but soon things took a sudden turn south. … Continue reading
From the archives: I have been fascinated by the concept of repurposing ever since our weekend visit to Mineral Point, Wisconsin about three years ago. It was a bleak time of year, like now, in the middle of February when we made that trip. We surprisingly discovered that many of… Continue reading
It was nearly a half of a year ago when my cousin reminded me of the “Prayer of St. Francis.” Lately, I have been reading it over nearly every day. A monk from the thirteenth century penned something so counter intuitive, so aspirational, so challenging, that I wonder if I… Continue reading
The Christmas Letter is something I don’t recall ever coming across until we moved to this area about twenty-five years ago. It basically is a way to stay in touch with folks we have encountered through our life and relay to them on what has been happening over the last… Continue reading
Yes, you are correct, it has been a long time since I have posted here. Yet, the mistress/addiction/passion called writing is always beckoning. I have continued to take assignments from the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida for their digital and print magazines which has been a fun learning experience for… Continue reading
You don’t have to be a democrat or republican, conservative, or liberal. Don’t be deceived into thinking the only choices are one or the other. You could choose both, or neither. You could be a lot one and little the other, or a little bit of each. You be could… Continue reading
My brother died of Covid December 29th, 2020. Because of the pandemic, we just held his memorial service back in Missouri last Thursday. Bill was 72, five years older than me. He was not in good health and resided in a nursing home. Yet, this disease that has taken hundreds… Continue reading
An old song by the Eagles (written mostly by Jackson Browne) A way to say goodbye or end a conversation An expression that means take things at a comfortable pace. I am trying to take it easy today, though I am not very good at it. I am attempting to… Continue reading
Here I am in my happy spot again on this tropical, secluded southwest Florida island on the Gulf of Mexico. I lived most of my life thinking I would never have an opportunity like this, even once. So, coming here for the sixth time in about a dozen years is… Continue reading
Saw this somewhere and decided to take the challenge. Jesus. Christianity is based on Jesus, not a church or a prescribed set of beliefs. Love. Christianity is based on love, loving God, loving others (especially those we do not understand), and loving ourselves (in a healthy, non-arrogant sort of way,… Continue reading
Easter is about life. It’s about the rebirth of Spring and Christ’s resurrection culminating in ultimate victory over sin, Satan, and the last enemy, death. We have been celebrating this for a couple of millennia, and we should. But there is one more slice of life that deserves celebrating…this life,… Continue reading
Hope. You got to have it. Life is agony without it. It’s what keeps us going. Covid. It changed our politics, our culture, our lives. It took too many of our loved ones. We have all about had it with Covid. Getting things back to any resemblance of normal has been… Continue reading
I used to think that I would never be, could never be, bored. Only boring people get bored, was my thinking. Yet, I am presently a little bit bored. I can’t finish tweaking our basement remodel, because it is still being worked on by the contractor. I have a little… Continue reading
If you just woke up after a year in a comma, what would you think? What would you think when you ventured out to find everyone wearing a mask? What would you think when you learned that we were in the midst of a modern-day plague that has taken over… Continue reading
I can’t say that I wasn’t warned about discussing religion and politics. A large chunk of the responses I have received when have I written about those topics has been discouraging. It was not because people disagreed with me, but because they obviously did not read the entire post or… Continue reading
This is a long post, but I ask that you read it all if you choose to respond with a constructive comment. Donald Trump is an obscene gesture to the American political system. As a used car dealer from South Carolina said four years ago, “We’re voting with our middle… Continue reading
The start of a new year brings with it the opportunity for new hope. Really a year is just a number. That’s how long it takes this little blue planet to get around the sun. There seems be unanimous agreement that 2020 sucked. A global pandemic killed hundreds of thousands.… Continue reading
We are living in strange times, aren’t we? I certainly did not want for anyone to take an unnecessary chance to be exposed to a disease that took my brother’s life. Also, an oversized chapel at the funeral home did not seem like the right setting for what would have… Continue reading
Plague / Conspiracy Caution / Frivolity Fear / Foolishness Scientists / Politicians Facts / “News” Reality / Spin Gaff / “Clarification” Understanding / Accusation Poor / Lazy Caring / Bleeding Hearts Honest / Racist Rule of Law / Trending Topic Comply / Refuse Rant / Resolve Snarky / Civil Demonize… Continue reading
It doesn’t feel like Christmas to me. It’s hard to say why, since emotions can be hard to figure out, but it is safe to say some of these things have had an effect on me an many others. Covid has cancelled all festive events; for many it has had… Continue reading
Every year when Christmas rolls around, I feel like I should feel something; something warm and cozy that evokes a sense of joy, gratitude, and peace. Usually, things are just too busy for me to get around to that until very late in the season. There are those moments late… Continue reading
I have had a crisis of faith. Oh, I haven’t gone completely heathen, but there have been drastic changes about how I believe and express my faith. Losing some of the simplistic, clear beliefs that I embraced for most of my life is a kind of loss that has been… Continue reading
I am looking at the edges of the earth. My panoramic view is so spectacular that it is rounded off at the edges. Even better, it’s the Gulf of Mexico. Better yet, I am sitting on the patio of the villa we have rented for the week. The warm Gulf… Continue reading
Writing is my therapy. So, as I kick back on the couch, would you mind asking me “And how does that make you feel?” every once and a while? I appreciate it. I get anxious sometimes, even depressed. I have some good runs, some for weeks, sometimes months. Other times, I… Continue reading
What makes a great story? You have to have a protagonist, someone who has a good heart. He is determined to solve the crime and get the bad guys off the street. He works really hard at being a good father and husband. She is unafraid to stand up to… Continue reading
Hey ya’ll! Yes, that is a southern greeting! And yes, I am in the south. The southern portion of the Appalachians in Northern Georgia, more particularly, the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. When I say I am in the mountains, I mean I am in the midst of a majestic mountain… Continue reading
