Third son Peter does his dad proud by a) working up the moxie to take a drama class at the tender age of 14; b) auditioning with a great comic speech from Alex and the Ironic Gentleman (the lament of the Ginormous Octopus for all you thespian wannabes) and c) landing the plum role of Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream first time out! Way to go, kid! Read more

or Shrimplike Alpha, if I use my middle name. What’s yours? Read more

A reader writes: I must say that you’ve been quite a tease re: The Cuteness. We were treated to many pictures during the Pagan Phase but have yet to see any pics from this Sunday’s baptism. Surely I’m not the only one who’s noticed this glaring omission? We would have posted picture but a funny thing happened. When Lucy was baptized and the glory and splendor of her now sinless being was revealed, she actually underwent a physical transformation to... Read more

A reader writes: Would you please post a prayer request for my friend Rachel? She has had health and financial difficulties for some time, but recently things have been especially bad, and in the next two weeks (until her next paycheck) she will have to stretch $35 to live on, including gas for her daily commute to and from work (she is a teacher) and to drive to medical care. She does not have much local help either. Lord, hear... Read more

A reader writes: Would you please post a prayer request for my friend Rachel? She has had health and financial difficulties for some time, but recently things have been especially bad, and in the next two weeks (until her next paycheck) she will have to stretch $35 to live on, including gas for her daily commute to and from work (she is a teacher) and to drive to medical care. She does not have much local help either. Lord, hear... Read more

Honor the Dear Leader! And let us renew our pledge to be a servant to the President. In him we live and move and have our being. Read more

My wife laughs at me because I get, like, minus scores on the Myers-Briggs Index as a “sensate”. That is to say, I’m not what you would call the most aware person when it comes to my physical environment. I once walked in our house, traversed the living room to the bedroom to drop my stuff, walked in the kitchen (past the living room), got a glass of milk, came back into the living room, sat down (for several minutes)... Read more

On the “Stupid About Big Things” side of the ledger, you get this brilliance from a school official: “We are, in fact, increasing rigor,” By this, he means, in part that the district upped the ante for graduation about a year ago when it started counting an E (failing) grade when calculating grade-point averages, which it hadn’t done for seven years. On the “Clever in Little Things” (like politics) you get this undeniably ingenious headline about the emergence of wingnuts... Read more

A reader writes: Please ask your readers to pray for the repose of the soul of Drew Billings, who was the theatre tech at our performing arts high school, and active in the theatre community in Omaha. He died in his sleep a few nights ago, at the age of 26, cause unknown. Drew was an Evangelical Christian, with a huge heart and a scathing sense of humor, who loved Jesus and everyone around him. Please pray too for his... Read more

A reader writes: Please ask your readers to pray for the repose of the soul of Drew Billings, who was the theatre tech at our performing arts high school, and active in the theatre community in Omaha. He died in his sleep a few nights ago, at the age of 26, cause unknown. Drew was an Evangelical Christian, with a huge heart and a scathing sense of humor, who loved Jesus and everyone around him. Please pray too for his... Read more