A Life Song

The other day I came home from visiting a friend who is in hospice. His wife is with him, sharing his next journey. But the cancer death he is forced to endure, and she by extension of her devotion, is a grim one. A once athletic body and powerful mind is now reduced to drains

Returning to Eden ( A Field Guide for the Spiritual Journey)

Quoir Publishing, $19.99 Heather Hamilton Heather Hamilton has written a book that will challenge evangelicals and encourage non-literal readers of the Bible and other Christian theology. Hamilton was reared as an evangelical and held to that as a young adult, but when she had to confront an emotional crises as a mother and wife, she

Segregated Still

The 1950s world in which I grew up was White. The 1964 graduating class in which I was in the lower quarter was White. The workers in the cotton mill in which I earned college tuition were White. Anyone or anything not White in our cotton mill town was located across the kudzu filled ravine

Heroic Lives

We like and even need heroes whether they are real people or figures from literature. They are examples of right living, and the most enduring heroes are the ones who are most human, the ones that remind us of ourselves.  Whether ancient or modern or real or fictional, heroes set a pace and serve as

Maintenance

The house in which we live was constructed in 1996, but it is not completed. Yes, the builder planted shrubs and flowers, paid all the workers, and placed a For Sale sign in the front yard. In that way, our house was finished. However, anyone who has ever lived in any dwelling for a length

Last Lunch

Yesterday, the first Tuesday of May 2023, was the last lunch date that Mary Ann and I would share with the A.L. Brown class of 1964. We began attending the monthly gatherings six years ago when we returned to North Carolina, but the Wonders had been sharing food and friendship long before our joining. Under

“It’s Already Wednesday”

Moving is a knot of conflict. Six years ago my wife and I moved from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia to Lake Norman in North Carolina. Despite being only a five-hour drive south, our new home on LKN was thought to be our last, but as a thought may do, it dissolved into change. Now

The 1960s and Now

The 1960’s carry much weight. Some folks see those years as the beginning of America’s demise because of “free love,” and the “hippie culture;” some folks see that decade as one of political upheaval that forever changed our republic; and more ills from that era are still discussed, but I see those years as magnificent

Supposed Rights

Three killed by gunshots on March 30, 2023; two arrested soon after for the murders, and another suspect a fugitive. The ages of shooters to victims range from 12 to 17. Think of that: A 12-year-old, a 16-year-old, and a 17-year-old kill two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old. However, Sheriff Billy Woods of Marion County, Florida,

Palm Sunday on Lake Norman

The appearance of the morning from inside belied the truth of this Palm Sunday, the last in our Lake Norman home. Before letting the dog out for his morning romp, I had seen the intense sunrise held in a blue sky that lit the white dogwood petals; but upon opening the door I was reminded