My 13th birthday was unremarkable. Nineteen Sixty-nine was full of important events. Joe Namath led the Jets to victory over the Colts in the Super Bowl that year, 16 to 7. Richard Nixon was inaugurated as president of the United States. Katherine Hepburn and Barbara Streisand…
My 50th high school reunion is in a couple weeks. Hard to believe. 50 years gone…<Snapping my fingers>… just like that. I hope I’ve grown a little, improved a little. I hope I’ve become a little kinder and a little more considerate. Maybe, even more responsible. The upcoming reunion triggered some high school memories. Some…
My Parents Loved Books My mother taught me to love books. She was reading all the time. The first book she gave me was a copy of Mila 18 by Leon Uris. I was a Junior in High School, and I would sit in the back of Government Class and read it during class. Sorry…
You are your parents! Well, not exactly, but your parents will determine who you are and what you do for almost your whole life. Mostly. How do you feel about yourself? Thank your parents. How do you save or spend money? Thank your parents. What kind of car do you drive? Thank your parents. (And…
I hate the State Fair! It’s hot. I hate the rides. Rommie, my wife, loves the quilts. OK, I enjoy the photography. But overall, I hate going to the State Fair. I don’t think I even took my boys when they were young. I don’t remember them even asking to go. I don’t know, it’s…
I Got Lucky I almost burned down a church once. Okay, okay, relax. It was an accident. I was the pastor of a little Baptist church in Arch, New Mexico. That was forty years ago. One of my duties as the young pastor was to baptize new converts. The baptistry was behind the pulpit area…
Greater Prairie Chickens It was the spring of 1973 and we were headed to Prairie Ridge State Park in Central Illinois to watch the courtship of Greater Prairie Chickens. It was my friend Don Andrews, Willard Gray, our 4H County Extension Agent, and me. We drove over on a Friday afternoon. It was 65° when…
There is a manual for almost everything. Like, the “dummies” guides. You know, “Adulting for Dummies,” “Communication Skills for Dummies,” and “Parenting for Dummies.” That was one I could have used 30 years ago. I loved being a father. I wasn’t perfect. Not even close. I used to give a book to parents called, “The…
I’m sitting at my campsite in the Red River Gorge. It’s mid-spring, which means it’s going to rain all night. No worries. I’m prepared. I have a microfiber tarp that weighs about 1 pound. And of course a Marmot tent. I’ll stay dry until I head back to the trail head in the morning. As…
I have read “Lonesome Dove,” by Larry McMurtry, at least five times. In the opening scene, Gus McCray saunters out to the well house to fetch his jug of Tennessee Whiskey. It’s been a long hot day in south Texas. The sun is setting, and he sits on the porch, takes a couple of long…
