We’re Headed To Austin
July 17, 2008
We are on our way to Austin where my wife and I will be blogging the Defending the American Dream Texas Summit. It is being sponsored by some great organizations; Americans For Prosperity, The Sam Adams Alliance, RightOnline, etc.. And, there are some great speakers scheduled; Michael Steele, Grover Norquist, John Fund, Bob Barr, Michelle Malkin, etc. Come on back to the blog over the next few days as I share my thoughts on the experience. Or, go on over to Susan’s blog and get some more well thought out reflections on the event.
Family Illness, Salmonella, & Hot Peppers
July 14, 2008
My whole family became sick last week after eating Mexican food. I can’t help but wonder if it wasn’t tied to the recent salmonella outbreak which has now sickened more than 1,000 people. Adding to the confusion, the government is warning certain people to avoid types of hot peppers.
Anything Can Be Fixed
July 10, 2008
My father is truly a jack-of-all-trades. Even at the age of 83 he is the first person I go to if I have questions. Thirty years ago I asked him in jest if there was anything he couldn’t fix. His response surprised me, “Anything can be fixed if you have the right tools, and if you are willing to spend enough money on it. You just have to decide whether or not it is worth committing the time and money to the project.”
That philosophy of “fixing things” is probably the reason why when purchasing tools (he made many of them, himself) he always purchased them based upon both quality and price — the right tools worth committing to. I wish I had his discernment about what is justifiably fixable, and what tools are the right tools. When I walk in his body shop I still don’t know what half of his tools are used for. Dad, what is this? “That’s a Valve Spring Compressor.” Oh. Dad, what’s this? “That’s a hydraulic valve tappet remover.” Oh, sure.
Need tools? Good tools? The right tools? You will want to check out SJDiscountTools.com. They seem to have everything. In fact I probably need my dad to look at most of them so I can ask “Dad, what’s this?” “That’s your cursor silly.”
They Call Me Dad
June 14, 2008
Over the years my wife has done many wonderful things for me. One of the finest was that she trained our kids to welcome me home at the end of a long day at work. When our firstborn was just a toddler I would step through the door and hear her shout out “Dad’s home!” Parker would come running, with plenty of hugs and kisses.
I’m a Hick
June 10, 2008
Yes, I admit it I am a hick; a small-town country boy through and through. Today I was reminded of this when I read a passage from the book The Godward Gaze, by Steve McVey. I found myself in complete agreement with Jed Clampett as quoted by McVey.
Television Sports
June 3, 2008
For twelve years I was on the wagon. I stayed clean and sober for twelve long years. Yes, for twelve (count them) years I did not watch any televised sports.
What would cause a person to engage in such a hermit’s life, you ask? Read more
Girls Shouldn’t Just Wanna Have Fun
May 30, 2008
Girls shouldn’t just wanna have fun, and neither should anyone else. Consider this story told by J.P. Moreland in The Lost Virtue Of Happiness
which he co-authored with Klaus Issler;
When my daughter’s eight-grade team was being creamed in a soccer game, the coach said at halftime, “Girls, don’t worry about the score. The reason we play soccer is to have fun; so let’s try to have a blast during the second half and go home happy whatever the final result.” That coach reminds me of Cyndi Lauper’s song “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” He was mindlessly parroting the cultural mantra that pleasurable satisfaction is the goal of life. The reasons my wife and I wanted our daughter to play soccer where to learn how to win and to lose, to cooperate with others, to sacrifice for a long-term goal, which requires delaying instant gratification, and — well, you get the picture. What was really sad was not simply the coach’s speech, but the fact than none of the parents so much as batted an eye at his counsel.
Fun In The Sun
May 26, 2008
Swimming, boating, golf, camping — many people will get more sun over the Memorial Day weekend than they have for many months. That can be both good and bad.
Bad if you catch too many rays, we’ve all had that experience.
But good in many, many ways. Sunlight is one of the best medications for depression, your skin creates additional vitamin D when exposed to sunshine which is believed to help the immune system, and as for me …
… it helps me live in the moment.
Have Family, Will Travel
May 24, 2008
It isn’t just the price of gas that keeps us from traveling. When we travel with our children I feel like one of the castaways of Gilligan’s Island. The crew and passengers on the Minnow set out for a three-hour cruise and look how long they ended up on the island. It is true that it couldn’t have been toooooo long because Ginger’s wardrobe never showed any wear and tear, but it was long enough for them to experience a ship wreck, to be captured by a Japanese sailor who did not realize WWII was over, to grow a garden of radioactive vegetables, for Gilligan to be turned into a chimp by way of a voodoo spell, and to share adventures with cannibals, a jungle boy living on the island, a big-game hunter looking for new prey, Russian Cosmonauts, a foreign spy who looked just like Gilligan, long-lost aviator “Wrong-Way Feldman”, and a rock-and-roll group (surely you hadn’t forgotten Bingo, Bango, Bongo, and Irving).
When Did You Become a Writer?
May 21, 2008
Over the last few weeks I have had several conversations with people about becoming a writer. Well, not so much about becoming a writer as thinking of oneself as a writer. Many of you are writers, so I ask you, “When did you begin to think of yourself as a writer? When did writer become part of your self-description?”
For me the transition to thinking of myself as a writer took place in by early teen years. Read more
