Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category
What happened to our “Hallmark” values?
Each Christmas season my wife and I look forward to days we spend watching one Hallmark movie after another; hopefully a snowy day with a fire in the fireplace. We just finished watching Hallmark’s “Have a Little Faith,” which I taped earlier this week. As the first commercial began, I realized I was not fast-forwarding […]
Christmases past
December 26th my wife and I celebrate our 28th anniversary. The year we married I was a single father with a three-year-old son, whom my wife later adopted. And, this year is the first Christmas it will be just the two of us. After cutting down our 28th Christmas tree, we reminisced about some special […]
What do we see in our flag? – Fourth of July, 2009
A high school social studies teacher took a unique approach to teaching her classes the value of being an American. She had all the student desks removed from her classroom. And, as each period’s class arrived, shocked there were no desks, she said to them, “I want you to have a desk, but before you […]
The best man I ever new – Father’s Day 2009
When the call came that August day, I was working at Safeway, stocking grocery shelves to earn money for college. My dad was dead; a heart attack. The family anchor was gone. Dad was 60, I was 19, and too young to lose my dad. I was at the age when you know the least, […]
Sand and stone – NEW YEAR’S
There is a story about two merchants in ancient Persia, Mussah and Nagib. They were traveling together in a caravan and one evening set up camp near a river’s edge. Nagib accidentally fell into the river and Mussah, without hesitation, jumped in and saved his friend. Nagib immediately had his servant carve on the face […]
Finding your way home – CHRISTMAS
Several years ago, I wanted to find more trails for mountain biking near our cabin because they are scarce in Targhee National Forest. I remembered seeing game trails while riding the few available trails and decided to ride game trails and also cross-country to connect trails, creating longer bike trails. But doing this would require […]
We ask them to kill – VETERAN’S DAY
We ask our military to do the unspeakable, the unthinkable. We ask them to kill fellow human beings. We ask of them what we are unable to ask of ourselves. Moreover, we do not want to see or know what they do. We are appalled when we see a television image of a marine killing […]
“We hold these truths to be self-evident” – July 4th
The birth of a nation, the realization of a dream, an eloquently simple statement: “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” During June and July 1776, the Continental Congress was debating the future of the Colonies. King George III continued his abuse of the Colonies with over a year of armed conflicts between the British […]
Of elephants, prisons, and fathers – FATHER’S DAY
Several years ago, our pastor told a story about a men’s prison that provided free Mother’s Day cards to inmates who wanted to send cards to their moms. Nearly all the inmates asked for a card and sent to someone they identified as “mom.” It may have been their mom, someone else’s mom, their grandmother, […]
Taps for the fallen brave – MEMORIAL DAY
Today we remember those who died in our nation’s service. Today we proudly display the American flag, a small flag in the living room window or a huge flag on a flagpole, the size is irrelevant. The flag is flown at half-staff until noon to honor the fallen brave, and then flown at full staff […]
A thank-you to mom for all she did – MOTHER’S DAY
The Sunday is Mother’s Day. I would like to remember my mom, the woman dad often referred to as ‘Mother,’ rather than by her name, Alice. He used the term ‘Mother’ when he was referring to her with admiration and respect. Recalling my childhood, I can now appreciate how difficult those years were for us, […]
Perspective – NEW YEAR’S
We are facing another new year, the time to reflect on the past while anticipating the future. This is the time of promises of changes we wish for the next year. This is the time to remember the good and the bad of yesterday. This is the time to remember the successes and failures of […]
Thoughts of a soldier’s father – VETERAN’S DAY
How do I write about the people willing to do what so many of us are not willing to do? How do I write about heroes? The ones “ready to pick up a rifle, ruck up and close with the enemy.” How do I write about Veteran’s Day when I am terrified because I have […]