In my last post, we talked about two things that shape us – Mountains and Mentors. Today I wanted to talk about Valleys and Villains but they’re both fascinating topics. So I’m going to give them each their own post. Let’s talk about Valleys today and how they shape us. Villains we’ll save for our next week. Last year on a bike ride from Boston, MA to Providence, RI, I painfully felt that all I did all day long on…
Today I want to talk about things we make and what makes us. My brothers and I started young in our education of making things. We were just little numbskull kids when we built our first tree fort in a dead cherry tree on the edge of our property. It consisted of a couple of two-by-fours randomly nailed into the trunk at very awkward angles. Over the years, numerous platforms were attached. None of them really lasted or were very…
I was standing in the doorway of my kitchen and water started to drip from the doorframe above my head. I bolted up to the second floor and found a water fall in the second-floor doorway. It was raining inside my house! Water was pouring down the doorways, first and second floor. I bounded into the attic, looked up and stood there wondering, “Why can I see speckles of grey sky from inside my attic?” My slate roof was at…
Some of the best stories grow out of road trips. I remember driving from Indiana back to PA with my parents. Mom and Dad were arguing about directions. My dad decided to take a shortcut. Mom was certain we took a wrong turn. You know where that shortcut took us? To a big old billboard announcing, “Welcome to the state of Michigan!” It was a quiet ride back to PA from that point on. I remember my first trip to…
Most embarrassing moments. Is it possible to have ten most embarrassing moments? Because I have a lot. Like the time in high school when I managed to escape the face-painting hazing of the senior players on my football team. They grabbed the underclassmen on their way in to school and painted their faces in preparation for the game that night. I slipped their grasp when I got off the bus only to be cornered in the main lobby which was…
The last time I saw empty shelves in a grocery store was in 2000 when I was in Belarus. The Soviet Union collapsed a few years earlier and capitalism was having a rough time in the former communist country. I saw empty shelves and egg shortages. I ate in dark restaurants because of electricity shortages. I never thought I’d see any of that again. Then came March 2020 and Covid-19. And the essentials were wiped out at the grocery store….
Crunching through the snow and sand barefooted, I braced for my icy ocean plunge. Early January at the New Jersey shore. Two degrees above zero. My wife told me not to go alone. My doctor friend told me not to go at all. I remember something about a heart attack and maybe hindering my ability to have kids. But my wife was all snuggly in bed. My doc friend and his wife were sleeping too. A silent bed-and-breakfast. Perfect for…
Where do you turn for advice and wisdom? I call some great friends and listen to some awesome podcasts. Naturally, my #1 goto person is my awesome wife. Of course, there’s always The View, Oprah or Talk Radio. And people say alot of things to help. But my frame of reference for all I hear, read and seek out is found in the ancient ways of the man Jesus. His ways are anti-establishment, cross-cultural and timeless. His teachings build on…