I once had a friend in high school and we were very close. We signed each other’s yearbooks “friends 4 ever!” We were both in music classes together. He was highly skilled at playing the piano. He had been playing since he was four years old. He could also play the organ quite well, and that’s a difficult instrument to play. He lived with his dad very close to the high school. His father was a tax accountant. Although, I was never invited to his house. I was too much of a hippy, and he didn’t think his dad would approve of me. He was also very religious. He went to church...

I was thinking about how much time I spend watching television the other night. And I thought how weird the extra-terrestrials would think it that our race of somewhat sentient beings sits in front of a box that makes pictures hour after hour. And then I thought to myself, “Myself,” I thought, “I guess we just like stories.” We like to watch stories. We like to hear stories. We like to tell stories. As soon as we get together with our friends and loved ones, we start telling stories. Anyone who has been married or even part of a family knows that you will hear the same stories over and...

One of the things about what happens in the typical public school just bugs the hell out of me. You see, we have the best office staff you could possibly imagine. Without them, the school simply could not function. They type all the letters going home. They fill the supply orders. They translate things that need translating. They take care of sick kids who end up in the office when the nurse isn’t there. They keep an eye on the kids who are in the office for disciplinary reasons until the principal can see them. They field telephone calls from parents. They are simply the best. And yet,...

I think there is a reason why most churches are filled with old people. I don’t think it’s because old people are getting closer to death and are afraid of the great unknown. And I don’t think it’s because “the church” (whatever church or religion) has nothing to say to young people. I think it’s just because most young people are busy building their lives. They are going to school, getting jobs, finding true love–or at least a reasonable facsimile, having children, buying houses, cars, dogs, cats, lawnmowers and kitchen cabinets. When you’re driving the car, sometimes...

As I sit here this morning writing this, I am in pain.  My back has gone into spasm again.  It does that from time to time.  It’s a drag having a bad back.  Anybody can tell you that.  So when I get up to go into the kitchen to get a soda or something, I’ll be walking like Groucho Marx ( I realize this reference is lost on younger folks—go watch A Night at the Opera—it’s really funny).  Oh well.  It happens.  It will get better, please God. There have been plenty of times in my life when I’ve been in trouble, broke, in danger, scared, sick, worried, and I’ve prayed, prayed...

Bullies are in the news a lot these days.  We’ve seen two people end their own lives in as many weeks as a result of cyber bullying.  As a teacher, I can tell you that bullies are a big problem in school.  This is nothing new.  Bullies have always been a problem.  And it’s easy to blame the bully, or even the person being bullied.  If only he or she had stood up for himself or herself.  That’s really easy to say.  But really what is a person supposed to do? I was the victim of bullying as a kid.  I was bullied because I was fat.  I was bullied because I was a liberal living in a...

Let me tell you a story about something that happened to me when I was six years old. We lived in the back of my parent’s business, Wilson’s Plastic Engraving. There was a shop in front, and, attached to the shop, was a two bedroom house. Behind the house was a back yard. Behind the yard was a small apartment building with two apartments downstairs and one apartment upstairs. I don’t think I ever saw our downstairs neighbors, but our upstairs neighbor was an elderly lady. One day, I was playing in the back yard doing typical six year old boy stuff when the old lady walked up...