As a child in Sunday school, I learned a song that went: “Be careful, little hands what you do. Be careful, little ears what you hear. Be careful, little eyes what you see.” The goal, I assume, was to give children a catchy way of reminding themselves of the importance of self-discipline, of keeping oneself free from bad influences. The message is still relevant. We have reached a point where American culture actively works to undermine any efforts to cultivate... Read more
NOTE: Understanding the process by which people assess and create value is crucial to living well in every arena of endeavor. This is the first post in an occasional series designed to lay out the dynamics by which this mostly invisible process affects us. Being human means having needs. Some of those needs are negligible. We won’t die if they aren’t met. Think about the way people “need” more channels included with their cable package, and you’ll see what I... Read more
One recent morning, not long before the alarm went off, the bed where my wife and I were sleeping crashed. Years ago, we put the bed frame on risers to create more room underneath for storage. This arrangement worked just fine until 6:30 on a Sunday morning when the one holding up the top corner broke. The center collapsed and the bed fell three of four inches with a loud bang. That was the end of our night’s sleep. Later,... Read more
The hard drive on our MacBook died Monday night. Every time we buy a new computer, I dread the day the drive goes kaput. Fortunately, I back up our data pretty regularly so at least the loss was minimal. I made an appointment to take the thing to the genius bar at the nearest Apple store to let the technician there check it out and tell me what my options were. I got there and waded through the mess of... Read more
We like, sometimes, to imagine we are suited to life alone. We like to think we can press on and get things done with no help, and certainly no interference, from anyone else. Our culture encourages this. Modern people tend to regard themselves as individuals who happen to live in proximity to other individuals. Ours is an atomized society where connection is rare, temporary and, more often than not, shallow. This arrangement hurts us all, but affects men perhaps especially... Read more
When the fictional Dillon Panthers are on the verge of winning a state championship in the final episode of season one of Friday Night Lights, Coach Taylor tell his players to stay inside themselves. This seems like odd advice to give to a group of young men facing the enormous pressure of being tested in front of tens of thousands of people. I mean, if people aren’t inside themselves, where are they? Upon reflection, Coach Taylor’s meaning becomes clear. Very... Read more
More and more, I think about romance. Mostly, I notice its absence. By romance, I mean not that mysterious process by which men and women are drawn together, but the larger dynamic of which the springing forth of love affairs is but a part. By “romance”, I mean all the experiences and attitudes that make life engaging, interesting and beautiful. The birth of love, the pursuit of sexual union, the intricate dance between the sexes amount to only one expression,... Read more
Next to the defeat of Clinton and the consequent derailment of her globalist, left-wing agenda, the best thing about the election season is that it’s over. Trump won, and from here out we will return to the daily grind of governing and being governed. Even if the new normal entails endless protests from disgruntled children stomping their feet in the streets, things will return to routine. For sane people, this should mean the chance to relax our focus on politics.... Read more
People ask me what it’s like to be the only man in a home with three women. I tell them it’s fine, it just means that at any given moment, there is a 50 percent chance that somebody is crying. Sure, I’m joking, but, you know, joking in the sense of saying something completely accurate. I’m not complaining. It’s all part of the feminine experience which is, ultimately, good. Still, as the father of two young girls, I am witness... Read more
I’m not a big one for slang. Maybe I was when I was younger. I don’t remember. But, these days, you’ll find me expressing myself at most times in standard English. It won’t be a surprise to you if you’ve followed me here or on Twitter for any length of time that I find most slang juvenile and showy. Slang is for kids obsessed with fashion and signaling their credentials for being considered cool. Once in awhile, there’s an exception.... Read more
The Road Home
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