I watched the Mike Tyson/Jake Paul fight last night. It’s probably the first professional fight I’ve watched in 20 years, maybe even longer. As a new therapist in 1997, I was working for the community health center, and I was mesmerized by Mike Tyson. I remember watching him bite off the ear of Evander Holyfield….
November 5, 2024. The sky did not fall. OK, OK, take a chill pill. I know what you’re going to say. The presidential election is a big deal. I agree! I voted. It seems like elections these days tend to create hostility, not just among strangers, but even between families and friends. And maybe even…
I don’t know when I first watched, “The Blues Brothers.” It came out in 1980, but I was in Bible College then, so I’m kinda thinking I didn’t watch it in the theater because the college I went to had strict rules about not going to the theater, although they did approve going to see,…
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…
