Wise Old Words
“My son, Jason, is getting married on Friday, and I am responsible for his wedding toast. I’d like some wisdom to pass on, the only problem is, I don’t have any.”
Americana
Where the Redhead Grows
Sometimes, as a writer you will find yourself as a guest on TV shows promoting stuff. You’ll be seated on a television set that is an exact duplication of a family room. Except, of course, this family room has nuclear studio lights that cause third-degree sunburns.
What Is A Life Worth Living?
As my oldest grandchildren enter adulthood, I talk to them as best I can about what matters in life. As I write this, I realize I need to say more, clearly, directly, and more often. Because, living at the short end of the candle I believe my rear view vision is 20/20.
Words in My Palm; Echoes from Ivy Green
I’ve chased you all over the US. I visited your grave in the Washington National Cathedral, I got chills there, too. I performed in a historic theater where you once lectured. Chills. I drove past the house where you died in Connecticut. Chills.
Iranian Drones to Destroy California? Too Late. Democrats have already done it
Recently, I heard the news that Iran may try to destroy California with its Shahed drones. I had to laugh at that. Aren’t the Iranians aware that Supreme Leader Gavin Newsom and his gang of socialist Democrats have already done that?
A True Writer
Dear Young Writers, You know who you are. You’re reading this on your phone, computer, tablet, or maybe a soggy newspaper you found in a gutter.
Waiting for the Icebreaker; or Spring is coming!
An annual ritual on the mighty St. Lawrence River, on the Canadian border, where I live between New York and Ontario, is waiting for the ice to “go out”. Sometimes it goes out on its own, often times it gets helped by massive quantities of diesel fuel combusted through a Canadian icebreaker.
Wait, There’s More, The News You Didn’t Hear This Week
This week the headlines were pretty dim. Fighting in Iran, surging oil prices, and just when you think current events couldn’t get any worse, it’s time for the Oscars.
From Prairie Reinvention to Permanent Record: The Death of Disappearing in Digital America
There was a time in America when you could punch your Army captain, skip town, grow a beard, head west, and become “Samuel Whitaker, cattleman and church deacon.” Today? You can’t change your Instagram handle without a two-factor authentication code, three archived screenshots, and your ex forwarding it to your employer.
What Holds Back the Ocean
As a kid, I remember going to the beach. I remember walking the shore, wearing my little swimsuit. I remember the glorious and inimitable joy of having sand in my crack. My biggest objective, of course, was finding seashells. All children care deeply about shells. This is the main reason you visit the beach as a kid. It’s about looking for shells.
Safety Above Freedom: How Good Intentions Built the Modern Nanny State
These phrases are the verbal equivalent of pulling the fire alarm in an argument. Once someone says them, anyone who disagrees immediately looks like a monster. After all, who wants to be the guy standing up and saying, “Actually, I prefer freedom even if it’s risky”? That’s not exactly a great campaign slogan. But history shows that these exact phrases — the language of safety, fairness, and collective good — are often the first step in breaking down systems built on individual responsibility and replacing them with systems built on control.
Last in the Pack; The Dogs Who Run My Household
Dogs know stuff. Yes, I know they’re just animals. I know their brains are only about the size of tangerines. But I’m telling you.
Thin Mints and Thick Waists
The Girl Scouts were setting up a folding table by the doors of the hardware store.
“Omigod,” I said to the cashier. “It’s March.”
The cashier looked at me flatly.
“Debit or credit?” she said.
“This is March,” I pointed out again. “Don’t you know what this means?“
The Tough Girl
A little girl. I see her in hotel lobby. She is maybe 10 years old. She has her luggage with her. Her gait is severely uneven and labored. She is having a difficult time traversing the lobby.
Atlas Rebooted: When the Department of War Decides Your Company Belongs to the State
In Atlas Shrugged, the government doesn’t seize Rearden Metal with bayonets. It does something far more modern. It surrounds it with emergency language, regulatory edicts, patriotic necessity, and administrative suffocation until saying “no” becomes illegal in everything but name. The state never shouts, “We are stealing this.” It simply declares the product too important to be privately controlled.
The Gospel According to Charlie
God love him, the plumber did not look happy. Namely, because our house is 100 years old. Meaning, five generations of people have been bathing in this house. The drain pipes have been whisking away one century’s worth of funk water.
Blood, Guts, and Winning Wars: Why Patton Still Makes Modern Leaders Uncomfortable
Patton’s most famous line, delivered to the Third Army in 1944, captured his philosophy better than any manual ever written: “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” That was not just colorful language. It was a direct rejection of the romantic nonsense that had gotten an entire generation slaughtered in World War I. Patton had seen that war. He had been wounded in it. He understood that modern industrial warfare was not a stage for heroic poetry. It was a contest of logistics, speed, firepower, and will. His job was not to produce martyrs. His job was to produce victory.
The Soloist
I was eleven. I was invited to try out for the Christmas community choir. A lady visited our church to conduct the auditions.
I had been practicing for three weeks, learning the lyrics to “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”
America the Beautiful, America the Invaded
As many as 15-20 million illiterate and unskilled migrants invaded our nation during the horrendous four years of the Biden administration. Hundreds of thousands—possibly millions—of them were violent criminals, slackers looking for a welfare check, or extremists here to set up terrorist cells.
Quiet Readiness: A Simple Reminder for Concealed Carriers After a Tense Weekend
There has already been at least one geopolitically connected incident reported in Austin, Texas. That doesn’t mean anything is about to happen in your town, and it doesn’t mean you should change your daily routine. What it does mean is that uncertain times are a good moment to make sure your equipment is working the way it should. Calm preparation beats last-minute scrambling every time.