The presidential debates have now concluded, but I can’t say they did much to help me make up my mind about how I will vote in less than three weeks. Whether it was Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump—or their running mates—going at each other, it felt more like watching dueling sound bites. Or listening to…
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Though Blink was published nine years ago, an observation by author Malcolm Gladwell in his bestseller is more relevant than ever. A treatise on the split-second decisions we often make, at one point Gladwell talked about the negative reactions people had to various stimuli. As the son of a Jamaican mother, one wouldn’t consider him a…
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The fact that Gary Johnson didn’t attract enough supporters in leading polls to qualify for last week’s first presidential debate is a good indication that the Libertarian candidate isn’t going to win the forthcoming election. It didn’t help matters any that a few weeks before, while being questioned on a national TV program about the…
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The comment that came out of left field one day left me wounded for the entire weekend. I wasn’t just offended. It was a kick-in-the-gut, you’re-not-too-hot sort of insult that left me clutching my stomach. Now that a couple weeks have passed, I marvel at the way God led me through this crisis of confidence.…
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With football season in high gear and the presidential election drawing ever closer, the Summer Olympics are already fading into memory. Yet I couldn’t let them pass without commenting on the special feelings they left millions with—like me, awed by the incredible athletic talents displayed in Rio de Janeiro. Ironically, our Olympics viewing tended to…
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The 9-11 terrorist attacks that created the Patriot Act and the Department of Homeland Security also inspired the tagline: “See something, say something.” However, when people take those words seriously, they aren’t necessarily treated with respect or seriousness. Case in point is the educator and former car salesman who observed numerous 9-11 hijackers in southern…
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Bad news travels fast these days, as I discovered last week through the modern equivalent of the back fence: Facebook. A family member posted an RIP for Tom Sirotnak, an evangelist in Southern California who I had known for nearly 24 years. Until I met Tom through a writing project that led to collaborating with…
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College football kicks off tonight with a slate of 16 games, followed by 11 more on Friday and such big-name clashes on Saturday as Alabama vs. Southern California, and UCLA vs. Texas A&M. However, if you want to watch some football and finish with a good feeling—no matter who wins—check out the movie, Greater. The…
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Last year I wrote a blog about the impressive public art project in Huntington, West Virginia known as the Artisans Express. A fund raiser for the Hoops Family Children’s Hospital, it was sponsored by the Cabell Huntington Hospital Foundation. The organization invited artists to submit their interpretations for train engine models (trains being a key…
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There were so many good things to talk about in my last blog about Time’s recent double issue on reasons to celebrate America that I couldn’t include them all. Especially the article titled: “The death of the bookstore was greatly exaggerated.” Ironically, the issue arrived the same week I saw a Publishers Weekly article headlined,…
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