Age 26 seems to be an unlikely time in life to be adopted. And age 50 is an even more improbable life stage to experience adoption. But it happens. I have observed such an adoptive experience twice this year. The first one occurred in July. A dear friend boldly fought cancer for several years, but the final 9 or 10 months of his life were especially difficult. His administrative assistant stepped in and did his job for all practical purposes…
Fall is in the air. Yesterday I saw fallen yellow leaves gathered in the bed of truck for the first time this year. As I watched my youngest son leave for school with one of his friends early this morning, my mind traveled back to the fall of 1978. I was his age in September of that year. And I picked up a neighborhood friend for school on most weekdays. She put her makeup on in the car as we…
I am not into chick flicks. I think they are overdramatic and characteristically predictable. I would much prefer to go to a movie where something explodes. But I do appreciate a real love story. I want to read a love story worth reading. Tomorrow I am going to tell one to an audience that I predict will be fairly large. It goes like this… Ira Lee met Joanne in 1945 in Dennison, Texas. I do believe it was love at…
I am a busy guy on Sundays. I preach for two services in the morning to a combined group of about 600 people. Being fresh and having something to meaningful to say 45 Sundays in a year is quite a challenge. I frequently hear people say they want to be “moved” when they come to a Sunday morning service. That is legitimate. I want to be “moved” too. But perhaps it would be good for all of us to “get…
Kyle (not his real name) is 50 years old. We were born within a few days of each other. But Kyle did not have the same experiences I did in elementary school. He didn’t attend any junior high dances. And he never graduated from high school. Nor has Kyle married or had children. In 1962, Kyle was born with Down’s syndrome. Several years ago Kyle was the victim of a predator. He was forced to endure heinous sexual assaults. The…
I must admit that I am very fortunate. I have friends of all ages and from a variety of backgrounds. Some of my dearest friends consider themselves to be liberal politically and others are quite conservative. I have friends who are deeply religious and others that are not. Last night I visited a very special friend in an ICU unit at a Fort Worth hospital who is nearing age ____ (Well I should not tell her age.) Today I interacted…
Mr. Suttle passed away last night. There won’t be a lot of fanfare about his death. He was a very private man who spent his career driving a greyhound bus after serving as a G.I. during World War II. After retiring, he was able to spend several years in New Mexico painting. He was an accomplished artist who spent his career driving up and down Route 66. As I think about attending his funeral service next week, I am reminded…
It is noontime on a Monday of all days at a busy hospital in the Midwest. The surgical technicians are already tired. They have already had two surgeries before taking a quick break for lunch. The physician preparing to administer anesthesia is fully engaged in his role, but he is looking forward to a late afternoon tennis game. The ham sandwich from the hospital cafeteria was mediocre at best, so the nurse pitches the Styrofoam box in the trash. She…
When I go in for a dental appointment, my dentist very graciously gives me drugs that numb the areas where she is going to drill, poke, prod, or otherwise invade. She told me during a procedure one time that she does not want to hit a nerve as she works in my mouth. I don’t want her to either. I would prefer to remain seated in the dental chair, and not be hurled through the roof and into orbit. Last…
A good friend of mine recently threw a party for her father’s birthday. And this particular birthday was a big one…Her dad turned 90 this year. He is very fortunate in that he is still very active physically. Actually that is a major understatement. Over the past ten years he has climbed to the top of Diamond Head in Hawaii; taken a gondola from peak to peak in Whistler and gone whitewater rafting, both in British Columbia, Canada; gone snorkeling…