Unpopular opinion: You don’t need a ‘New You‘ this January. We’re told every January 1st that we need to reinvent ourselves from scratch. What if this year isn’t about starting over, but about leaning in? I’m talking about perseverance over perfection.
Continue reading “Unpopular Opinion”
It has been a long year for many of us, and yet, I have hope. I believe we may have reached a turning point as 2025 ends. A local Fauquier County MAGA man, as MAGA as they come, has turned on Trump. When someone like him calls Trump a “f^cking piece of sh!t”, you know the world is changing.
Continue reading “A Turning Point”
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I was thinking about family dinners and how they have been affected by our President. The President does something better than anyone else in the world. He screws up relationships. I am talking about our personal relationships with each other – with our families, friends, and neighbors. It does not matter whether you are Red or Blue, or somewhere in between. If you are honest with yourself, you know your personal relationships have suffered.
Continue reading “He Does It Best”
Recently, my wife, Cathy, and her sister Bonnie spent three weeks touring the wilderness and National Parks in Wyoming and Montana in a camper van. I’ll talk a little about that. What I really want to talk about is the people who stole their firewood at a couple of campgrounds.
Continue reading “Stealing Firewood”
This write-up is from my friend, Clark Hall (no relation), a Vietnam Veteran. While the words are his, the lessons are for all of us —
60 years ago, on August 3, 1965, an “incident of war” occurred that foreshadowed the human, political and military disaster underscoring the lunacy of the Vietnam War.
Continue reading “Cam Ne”
Happy 4th of July! May we all celebrate the birth of America 249 years ago. Cookouts, fireworks, maybe a parade. Gatherings of friends and family. Enjoy the day and give thanks for the Declaration of Independence and the men who signed it with a pledge of their Lives, their Fortunes, and their sacred Honor.
Continue reading “Independence Day, 2025”
Dad passed away fifteen years ago on June 25th, 2010. I think of him often and smile at our times together, and the stories he told of his life. I am eternally grateful for the gifts he passed on to me. I could also cry, thinking of the questions I never asked him, and never thought to ask while he was alive.
Continue reading “Dad”
Did you hear? A Big Parade is coming! It is the 250th anniversary of the United States Army, and coincidentally, a certain someone’s birthday. Let’s celebrate! Ever since Trump saw a military parade in France in 2017, he has wanted one and he is finally getting it.
Continue reading “The Big Parade”
Strange as it may seem, bushhogging gives me both a sense of Zen and a feeling of accomplishment. It took me years to reach that point, and I was happy to relive it again last week. As a bonus, I had an ongoing interaction with a persistent crow, who turned out to be pretty smart.
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May 14th was the 75th anniversary of Mom and Dad’s wedding in 1950. They celebrated 60 of those years together, before Dad passed away in 2010. I’m grateful for the lessons about love and marriage they provided my sisters and me, or to anyone who knew them.
Continue reading “Mom and Dad’s 75th”
Live Life Exuberantly 