I am praying for the families of the four Lakewood, Washington police officers killed in the line of duty early yesterday. Washington State Patrol officials were in a desperate search this morning for a man suspected of ambushing the officers in a cold blooded attack. I was nearly late for an important lunch meeting today as I watched the coverage of that event on the news. The phrase protect and serve was on my mind, as I pulled out of…
I just finised the second book written by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. Their recent release is entitled: What Difference Do it Make? It is a sequel to their first work: Same Kind of Different as Me. Ron is a successful international art dealer. Denver spent some time years ago in the infamous Angola Prison. He was a homeless man making his way on the streets of Ft. Worth when Ron met him. The story of their unlikely friendship and…
A lot of people are shopping today and searching for holiday bargains. I just don’t have time to shop. I need to spend some time taking inventory, because I am crying inside for a young man today. I suppose I should explain… In response to my recent blog about family tradtions a few days ago, a long time friend responded by sharing the following story about her daugther’s boyfriend. The young man’s mother is wrapped up in her own issues,…
It is Daniel’s senior year, so I am feeling a little nostalgic. He will soon become the second child in our home to sprout his wings and leave home. This time of year I attend debate tournaments at least twice a month with the Granbury High School team. I love it, because I am a former debater. Traveling all over the state as a high school debater gave me some much needed confidence, but most importantly it opened the door…
The Thanksgiving Holiday got underway officially at the Knox Manor last night with the arrival of our firstborn from college. It was a typical entrance. Nothing was out of the ordinary. He headed for the refrigerator immediately. But unfortunately disappointment ensued. He just knew there would be some of his mother’s cowboy stew leftover in the fridge. His brothers had inhaled the last spoonful the day before. There were no Ziploc bags of cornbread on the counter either. He had…
Thanksgiving is about to roll around again soon. Families will get together to eat and watch football. There might be a round or two of golf around here, if the weather is pretty. Deer hunting is probably another option for some. I also know that Thanksgiving fires off a season that can be sad and stressful. I did not grow up sharing the holidays with extended family. There were a lot of reasons for that. It was just a fact…
I am extremely fortunate to have a circle of loyal friends who come from many walks of life. Some are peers and others are considerably older. In the case of some of my friends, I am old enough to be their father. My older friends provide wisdom about the issues that still lie ahead. They no longer fund car insurance for their boys and they have walked their daughters down the aisle. My peers reassure me that I that I…
I am not a creative parent. I may be a decent parent. I think I can be a real pain as a parent, but I am lacking in the creativity department. I do recognize that creativity is a good thing, when it comes to the parental role. I appreciated an interesting parental story that Donald Miller shares in his most recent release. It seems a father was engrossed in ESPN or the like when his daughter came in to show…
I love autobiographies. I find them inspiring. I am willing read the entire gamut in this area of literature. I have not always been a big fan of Teddy Kennedy, but his autobiography is in my reading queue. I just completed an autobiography of sorts. Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz, recently released a new work. The title is: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. It is autobiographical for sure, but he writes with the purpose of inspiring…
I concluded that he just did not like me. I worked for a police supervisor a number of years ago who is a fine man. For some odd reason I had a very difficult time connecting with him. He seemed distant. I found it difficult to communicate with him. And yet those who had known him for a long time obviously had great respect for his character and leadership. Long time friends seemed to have positive connections with him. My…