[July 14, 2023] I was sitting in church with my family in late February 1962, only a few weeks shy of my 10th birthday, with my favorite yo-yo in my front pocket. My friends and I ran outside to do the “John Glenn” trick when the sermon concluded. This yo-yo trick would be three loops around and… Read More »
[July 10, 2023] I was born in Arkansas, close to a line of small towns that ran south into Louisiana along what is now state Route 165, where all my relatives married, worked, raised their families, and died. My hometown is Mer Rouge, where I learned to be a young man. I lived in this little village, without… Read More »
[June 3, 2023] Summer jobs, side jobs, and odd jobs. This article is my latest update to letters to my granddaughter. Growing up in the 1950s was good for me. By now, you know that we were rich (by local standards), and that meant my parents were married, my dad had a steady job on the railroad,… Read More »
[July 26, 2022] Sunday morning I was informed that one of our Eagle Scouts, a Boy Scout since he was 7 years old (a Tiger Cub), had passed away in his sleep. Any time we lose a loved one, good friend, or someone who showed promise, spirit, and friendliness, we mourn for their loss to us and our… Read More »
[February 6, 2022] I didn’t know it at the time, but I grew up privileged. As a young boy, my privilege was being in the company of combat veterans from World War II and the Korean War. They were everywhere; being salesmen, pumping gas, farming, raising dairy cows,1 all holding down ordinary jobs you could find in a… Read More »
[July 28, 2020] Date: the early morning hours of December 7, 1941. This day was beautiful by any standard. Most wars start with a surprise attack. When the Japanese attacked ships in Pearl Harbor and planes on the airfields of Hawaii, things happened elsewhere too. You have probably never heard of the Battle of Schofield Barracks. Maj. Gen.… Read More »
[February 8, 2020] Growing up in the rural Deep South, my grade-school teachers often told us stories about the history of the United States. For little kids like my friend Wilson and me, we remember being mesmerized by the Benedict Arnold story and how he betrayed our fledgling nation. We were raised as Christians, attending church everyday Sunday… Read More »
[June 15, 2019] Running your own business means that you always need to wear different hats. At the same time, you are a CEO, HR, finance director, and more. Even if you have people who are responsible for these duties, still you need to oversee everything. There is no secret formula for how to become a successful entrepreneur,… Read More »
[August 2, 2018] I was on my way home to Washington, D.C. from a Sunday morning, going-to-church wedding in Minneapolis, Minnesota when I heard about a sad story. You see, there was a young 31-year old black man who was killed by police (happened the day I was there) because he had a gun, was wildly shooting it… Read More »
[May 1, 2018] Many years ago as I was walking through my company’s motor pool, when I saw an army Private working on an armored personnel carrier. I stopped to ask why he was trying to fix the vehicle so early on a Sunday morning, instead of being with his buddies. He said that it was no hardship… Read More »