My Inner Author

Thanksgiving. Sadly the Thanksgiving holiday is now known more for being the busiest travel weekend of the year, and for Black Friday (soon to be Thursday night sadly) sales to start the Christmas holiday buying season. There is one element of the Thanksgiving of old that (thankfully) still lives on: a time for reflection of all the people (and things) we are thankful for in the past year. Indeed, in today's society, far too little is appreciated and far too few are thankful for what they have. So tonight, rather than a status blurb on Facebook, I wanted to write down a few of the "less obvious" people I am thankful for. Unlike an Oscar winner, I am not going to even attempt to list every family member and friend I can possibly name. I am quite grateful for all of them. I hope and pray they all know this, I do try and make sure they all understand how appreciated they are. I am also quite thankful for a loving God, the brave men and women who serve our country, fi

The sports news of late has been peppered with stories of football players fighting on the field, even coaches jawing at each other and looking as though Frazier-Ali were coming to a football stadium near you. As a long-time sports fan, football fanatic and youth football coach, it concerns me to see the number of incidents are continuing to grow and not nearly enough is being done to curtail the problem. This past month we have seen college football coaches barking at each other, NFL coaches acting like drunken frat guys seeing who's is bigger, and lots of college and high school players getting into all out scrums on the field. It sickens me to see what this behavior is showing our young people today. Where is this coming from and what can be done about it? Admittedly, the one of the main causes of this problem has been a long time coming. To those of us who have seen a generation or so of young kids growing up in sports, the problem is quite simply poor or non-existent p

Several years ago I wrote a series of blogs about a great book I had read called "I'm Fine With God, It's Christians I Can't Stand' by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz. As a topic, they really hit the nail on the head about a growing problem in American churches today. Now, a few years later, I have found another book which is stirring my mind and soul further, and speaking out about things which have continued to occupy my thoughts and help me to understand why I find myself on the road I am walking today: "Mere Churchianity" by Michael Spencer. According to the author "Mere Churchianity" is written for people who have come to the end of the road with church but who can't entirely walk away from Jesus. He further states, "Are the people who run away, walk away, drift away or lost their way really abandoning Jesus and the Good News? Or are they walking away from a church that has become disconnected from Jesus and all he stands for?

This weekend will mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and it is a great time for one to reflect on how they, and the world around them, have changed. Indeed the impact of the events of 9/11 were so profound, they will continue to shape who we are as a people for many, many more years. Personally, I will admit I can recall the Oklahoma City bombing, the attempted assassination of President Reagan, and when the Berlin Wall came down; but none of those events stand out like those fateful few hours on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Indeed December 7, 1941 is a day that will live in infamy, and September 11, 2001 is standing there right beside it. 9/11 has changed us all in many ways. The terrorists in Al Qaeda carried out their dastardly deed, murdering thousands of innocent souls including children, fellow Muslims and scores of heroes who simply wanted to help others in their time of need. And while they did manage to fly 3 airplanes into populated areas and inflict hug

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault. Common sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults are in charge not children) His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of an 8 year old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they the

Forgive the length of this note, as it does cover the 14 days of our wonderful Paris/Italy tour this summer. It is simply intended to be a trip diary to help me remember what we saw, what we did, and some of the many details of our visits. 6/13-6/14 Travel day(s). How often can one watch the sun set, wait a couple of hours and watch the sun rise, all on the same flight. Not to often, and yet, we did. Travel east to Europe proved brutal for me. Even in the Business Class cabin, with Benadryl to help, sleep proved elusive. At least good sleep. So our travel day found us in Paris, exhausted and spent as we had departed the US at 5pm and found ourselves in Paris at 9am the following morning. Of course we did gain 6 hours in the air. Apparently planes fly along the east coast to the tip of Canada and then strike out across the ocean and for our flight, flew between Ireland and the French coast. Customs proved much easier than I expected, and the bags were waiting when we clea

Today the Obama Administration, in conjunction with the Congress has announced the creation of the new U.S. Afterlife Status Service. This new government agency has been created to help all Americans, and the hordes of undocumented aliens presently living in the United States, with reaping the best possible benefits in the afterlife. "For far too long, Americans and human beings the world over, have had to abide by archaic rules and laws of the many various religions to achieve a state of heavenly bliss once their time on earth expires," said President Barrack Obama. "This has created an unfair system. People born into faithful families have an unfair advantage over those who are not. People who concern themselves with selfish pursuits such as their salvation and accountability for their life choices are unfairly rewarded for such selfish behavior.“ “Far too many people tend to be excluded from the full benefits of the afterlife simply because they chose to worsh

Much has been made in the news the past few days about the pending budget cuts in the Leon County School System. Sadly, it appears the effects of these cuts may already be taking place. Apparently, the school can no longer afford e-mail or letters to parents. How do I know? Well, here you go. A member of the staff at Swift Creek Middle School solicited sex from a student of the school. When the student reported this to the administration, the person was removed from the grounds while the investigation continued. This happened on May 6th. Some 11 days later, when the investigation revealed sufficient evidence to arrest the perpetrator, the Leon County School Board terminated the staff member's employment. So far, so good. However, even as I type this note, over a week after his arrest on the charges of soliciting sex from a student, the school STILL has not notified the parents in any way. This honestly isn't even vaguely excusable. This isn't the CIA covering

Monday night at 9pm EDT Stargate Universe will end it's two year run on the SciFi Network. As the third Stargate series in the franchise, a fair number of fans also considered it the weakest of the Stargate shows. But they really missed out on a good show with some great stories in the making. Alas, the very reason I love the show, is likely the biggest reason it got canned: it is a darker show than most. Which is why I really did enjoy it. I love SciFi as a genre. It allows for such a wide canvas of story telling, but the shows and stories which really call to me are the darker ones. You can keep the Love Boat in space, we are all one big happy family in space stories. Some of those can be alright at times, but the real payoff in Science Fiction (indeed most genres) for me, is in the struggle to stay true to yourself, despite all the temptations and reasons to cross that line. Deep Space Nine remains my all-time favorite Trek show, and I loathed it in the first season an

I have seen so many varied reactions since the news broke on Sunday evening that UBL (or OBL) had been killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan. In Philadelphia, the crowd watching an extra innings game between the Phillies and Mets began to get Tweets, texts and emails about the news. Spontaneously the crowd began chanting," USA! USA!" I am sure there were some very confused players on the field at that moment. Until, they heard the news, then the chills broke out. Outside the White House and in other key areas in several cities, parties broke out. People waved flags and danced in the streets. Surely some, in the quiet and privacy of their homes, cried. To those who lost loved ones on that horrific day of 9/11, perhaps it provided a sense of closure. For me personally, I did not dance. I did not cry. I simply prayed once again for those who have suffered as a result of the pure evil and hatred that man spewed forth into the world. I prayed for those who have spent year

Okay, I sat out a good few topics over the past couple of months, trying to turn some ideas for short stories or more into just that (short stories or more). I have found writing fiction is not as easy as it looks. But, I am making progress. ;-) However, this week I have seen news headlines talking about the looming shutdown of the federal government and the contentious talks going nowhere. Well, I sure wish the populace of our great country could spare 300 seconds of their lives to educate themselves on the topic and tell ALL of these clowns in Washington to get a freaking clue! I have seen 2, yes two, as in a pair of people out of 535, who get it when it comes to our massive spending problem and the deficit. (Okay, Ron and Rand Paul probably do too, but I have not seen them speaking out on it in the press of late). Congrats Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan, you should get a prize for understanding the sheer scope of the problem. Alright, I will do my part to help people stop for

To those who have not been to Universal's Island of Adventure, and Harry Potter's World of Wizardry portion of the park yet, it is very cool. They have done a good job, and the attention to detail is noteworthy. However, you should stay at one of the hotels that gives you early admission to the park and go to Harry's area first. See what you want, enjoy the experience and then venture into the rest of the park. If you just go during normal hours, be there when it opens, or be prepared to wait hours just to see the Potter part of the park. It is well worth the trip and truly the park is a good balance between coasters and motion simulators. Now, to Universal. You did a great job. However, it is obvious this got rushed a bit and you had no real grasp of the reach this would have. You merely recycled a portion of the Islands park, and it is not nearly enough to meet the demand. You should seriously consider expanding the area, and if you decide to build Potter park