Memorial Day–More Than Just a Day Off
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I won’t wish you a “Happy” Memorial Day, because there’s no “happy” in it. It’s a day of remembrance–a day to honor those who died in defense of their country.
Holidays
Petals of Honor
Petals of Honor In the heart of battle, the air thick with smoke, poppies rise through the scarred ground, born of blood and tears, and cultivated by the courage of the fallen. For those who have tasted the fire, brotherhood blooms from the ashes, roots growing deep in the soil of sacrifice, verdant and etched …
No Bravery: A Song Born from the Ashes of Kosovo
In 1999, while most of the world moved on from the headlines about the Balkans, soldiers and peacekeepers stepped into a devastated land where the horrors of ethnic cleansing still hung in the air like smoke.
Easters Past, Future, and Present
Easter 2025 was pleasant as it was lived in the present. But, much of this Easter, I’ve pondered about Easters in the past and those coming in the future. At this short end of life I won’t see many of Easters I imagine in the future.
An Old Easter Story
When we were growing up, my brother and I never got Easter baskets. Easter meant going to church and getting new Easter clothes. Our parents (actually, we just blame Mom–sorry, Mom) wanted to instill in us that Easter was not about rabbits or chocolate eggs, but rather about the resurrection of Jesus.
A Guy Named Patrick
You’re 16. One day, you’re hanging out, shooting the bull with friends, when a horde of thugs comes through your village, setting fire to houses, pillaging, and doing unspeakable things to townswomen. Now what?
Feeling the Love
Do you look forward to Valentine’s Day, or do you try to ignore that it exists? There’s plenty of love out there for everybody.
My New Year’s Resolution
It’s the New Year and, judging by people’s resolutions, they think they’re supposed to be doing all sorts of impressive things like losing weight, saving more money, training for marathons, etc.
A New Year with a Blind Dog
I brought in the new year with a blind dog. She was seated beside me, wagging her butt. I think she could feel the energy in the air.
Chuck Klein and 2025 Pronouncements
Chuck Klein makes 2025 pronouncements from the point of view of the World’s major actors.
2024 Rearview Awards
According to the Chinese, 2024 was the year of the dragon that symbolizes strength, wisdom, luck and power. What 2024 did produce was perhaps the greatest political comeback in American history.
From 2024 to 2025
A retrospective of 2024 looks like a prospective for 2025. Despite the dramatic shift from Biden’s Bolshevik Administration to Trump’s MAGA 2.0, the past is always prologue.
The Christmas Breaks of Boyhood
Things in America have changed since I was a boy. We were feral children during Christmas breaks. We were dangerous. We lived without helmets. We had BB guns. We ate saturated fat. And we were never, ever inside.
God Keeps His Resolutions
Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Do you keep them? If you do, you’re in the minority. But God keeps all of His resolutions. You can count on it!
Christmas with Becca
Christmas supper. The little girl beside me ate ferociously as though she had not eaten in 13 years when in fact she had already eaten two breakfasts, one Christmas lunch, half a bag of tortilla chips, a quarter of a cheese log, and various holiday snacks which all featured onion dip as a main ingredient.
While You Were Sleeping
It’s almost Christmas. Stop rushing. Take a deep breath. Allow yourself to slow down and remember what the season is about.
Merry Christmas
Thank you. That is the purpose of this column. I want to say “thanks.” I don’t know you, but I believe in the good you do.
Christmas: A Time For Memories
Christmas is a time for memories. I have two childhood memories that have stayed with me all of my “x” number of years, and they are as clear as if they happened a couple of years ago instead of six decades ago.