Last summer I purchased a book titled The Life –Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Ms. Kondo’s book isn’t nearly as entertaining as A Tale of Two Cities, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter series, but her book had an enormous impact on my...

Fearing their students might suffer long-term emotional distress and mental anguish because Donald Trump was inaugurated, as the 45th President of the United States, college administrators across the country have created “safe spaces” on their campuses for students...

Many years ago, actually make that many, many years ago, while serving in Vietnam I had an experience that left an indelible impression on me.  No, it’s not what you might imagine. Of course I had a few colorful experiences, but being a helicopter pilot was still far...

On a recent trip my wife and I happened upon a kiddie playground replete with swings, horizontal monkey bars, slides of various sizes, a whirl, etc. The playground was vacant but as we walked we spied a series of warning signs alerting people to the dangers that...

Do you remember your first time?  I sure remember mine.  The year was 1955 when my Uncle Joe asked my parents if I could join him to visit my paternal grandparents in Pasadena California. For a 10 year-old fifth-grader the notion of boarding a commercial airliner for...

I truly believe the 1950s were the best possible time to be growing up in America.  When I say that to friends or family they’re quick to point out that I attended high school, graduated from college and later served in the Marine Corps during the decade of the 60s....

It’s been said that millions of Americans suffer from a malady referred to as panophobia.  For those unfamiliar with the term, panophobia means the “fear of everything.”  It’s that uneasy feeling of insecurity that usually manifests itself on Sunday evenings and...

English isn’t the easiest language to master, and here’s a humorous look at the reason why. How does someone just learning the language understand that the bandage was “wound” around the “wound,” that the farm was used to “produce” “produce,” the dump was so full that...

When I was younger the study of words seemed an academic endeavor, if not downright boring.  But an experience I had in Vietnam that changed all that. Early during my tour in country I began feeling discomfort with one of my wisdom teeth.  As it turned out, it was...

My wife Bobbi and I have been truly blessed to travel to Africa so frequently.  The African bush is magical.  It’s both spiritual and raw, all while it’s authenticity washes over you in ways that must be experienced to be understood. Recently I was re-reading Lawrence...