The old paradigm is gone. It seems people no longer consider age a boundary marker. It used to be that “retirement” was regulated by years. Now we say, “Sixty is the new forty.” One student, who discovered my age, in an obvious lapse of decorum, intoned that I was “older than his parents.” Yeah. That
The line Between Here and There Now and Then Does not exist In the way We think, Enamored, As we are, With what We think. Instead Of what He thinks. The Majesty Of the moment Is in every Clock’s tick Our opportunity Our responsibility Our urgency To live As if Tomorrow We die [We will]
“How ya’ doin’?” is the general way the question is asked. People who ask it fall into categories. Some mean, “Hi.” The question becomes an informal greeting. The person isn’t expecting you to answer. Others wonder, truly, about your well-being. The individual is expecting a reply akin to “Fine, thank you.” Their interest is intentional,
My children dragged me kicking and screaming into poems and their poets in the 90’s. And I am ever thankful that they did. Now, I wonder if I could live without it, without expressing myself in it, without giving the poetry of Scripture its due. This week I discovered Marianne Moore, a modernist poet whose
202* Asterisk *stars* are used for emphasis instead of C*PITALIZING expunging the vowel in a prof*nity a symbol in c*lculation footn*tes in essays r*dialing the last call For all these reasons I will use the asterisk to mark This year. To expunge a day To multiply days To emphasize daily To footnote the date To
I sat on the deck Talking to him tonight Smoke and glass hand Telling him how much I miss him On this earth with me Ahead of the artic blast I shiver and shake Not for cold But for the absence The son who is On the Other Side To say
Science is helped by history. Give me a minute to explain. After discovering the third law of planetary motion, Johannes Kepler prayed, “Sun, moon, and planets glorify Him in your ineffable language! Celestial harmonies, all ye who comprehend His marvelous works, praise Him. And thou, my soul, praise thy Creator! It is by Him and
The artillery opened fire at 10 p.m. Using bracketing salvos, measuring the precise range of their volleys, spotters began to report direct hits. The structure imploded from the heat generated from the incendiary shells, created by igniting the contents of the building. Stained glass shattered. Sections of the roof collapsed. Walls caved in. People escaped
Nothing has changed. Give me a minute to explain. Corruption comes from the lie in Genesis 3:4-5, “The serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of the forbidden fruit, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” In
Who will be in charge? Give me a minute to explain. “Who is the number one god?” In the 1996 movie The Island of Dr. Moreau, the beast people revolt against the godlike scientist, taking over the island. In fits of rage, the beast people, once controlled by electric shocks, now rule. Done with Dr.
When it happens, you know it. Give me a minute to explain. The delivery of any kind of oral presentation is unique. Singing our national anthem happens all the time. However, Whitney Houston’s 1991 Super Bowl performance surpasses all others. Wartime addresses are essential for their time and place. Yet some transcend the moment, such
Take the blue pill. Destroy reality. Give me a minute to explain. Richard Weaver’s book Ideas Have Consequences has reverberated through my life every time I read it. You don’t need to scan any further than the introduction to see Weaver’s concern: men have dismissed transcendence, universal ideals, logic, realism, objective truth, and original sin.