Once upon a time, my dad was the general manager of a manufacturing plant. He liked to walk the factory floor and observe what was going on. He told me didn’t believe in using a suggestion box. “It’s better to talk to people,” he said. One day, Dad talked with a machinist who complained that … Continue reading Joe and the Machinist →

In the early days of text-messaging, I sent a text to my wife saying, “What about dinner tonight?” At least I thought I did, because we had been texting about our plans for the day. It turned out that I selected the wrong recipient, a young lady I had previously texted about a class-related question. … Continue reading And to Think →

Here’s an old musician joke. How many lead trumpet players does it take to change a lightbulb? Five. One to change the bulb and four to stand around and talk about how they could have done it better. The punchline is universal. Monday morning quarterbacks abound. There is no shortage of people who are willing … Continue reading With Great Power →

[Wearing a Chain of Office, or Livery Collar, dates from the Middle Ages, when it represented fealty to a member of the nobility or signified a mayor’s responsibility to his municipality.] “Welcome to Congress, Ladies and Gentlemen. According to the provisions of COPRA, the Chain of Office Public Responsibility Act, the President and Vice-President, all … Continue reading The Chain →

When I was in elementary school, my Dad stopped smoking. He has told me two stories about this. One involves a simple observation: every time he answered the phone at the office, he lit a cigarette. His doctor had told him to quit, of course, but the sudden realization that he was behaving like one … Continue reading Knowing When to Stop →

This post is my response to the revolting behavior on Capitol Hill. One scene in the movie, “Dances with Wolves,” still resonates with me. The US Cavalry had captured and beaten Lt. Dunbar. They believed the Sioux were “hostiles” and should be dealt with accordingly. It was clear to Dunbar that their minds were made … Continue reading Who is Worth Talking To? →

It’s January 2 – again. I can now log one more trip on a beautiful little planet around a relatively small star in a galaxy 100,000 light-years across. That star is one of 400 billion in this galaxy, which is only one of 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe. There are over 7.8 billion … Continue reading 30,000 Lifetimes →

“Our freedom is precious. Priceless, in fact. There is nothing greater. Patrick Henry said, ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ We are nothing without our freedom, so nothing must stand in our way as we pursue it,” Adam reached his conclusion. “We must clear away anything…or anyone…that stands in the way of freedom. If … Continue reading A Parable Within a Parable →

Some people consider oysters a delicacy. Others have religious objections to eating creatures that live in shells. Some people are allergic to them. And others just happen to like them. But I don’t like them. I also don’t like okra very much, except maybe in soup. I consider okra the oyster of the plant kingdom. … Continue reading Six Oysters →

My reaction to the recent press conference by the Georgia Secretary of State. That’s a character-builder,” my Dad said as I studied my next shot. The ball was halfway behind a tree, with no easy path to the green. I could risk it, with a nine-out-of-ten chance that the ball would hit the tree and … Continue reading It Has To Stop →