I know that I have been cheating the past week or two. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve seen that I’ve been posting a lot of older blogs–“archives”–instead of my usual meanderings. The reason I have done so is called August. School starts next week and I am hip deep in alligators, I mean, meetings. … More Reality Strikes
We are working in the back yard this morning. We got up early–well, sort of–and tried to get as much weed pulling done before it gone hot. But 9, 10, and then 10:30 came and the sun started beating down. We thought about jumping in the pool, and that led us to think about our … More From the Archive: Cooper’s Surprise
As many who see my Facebook page are aware, yesterday I did something out of the ordinary for me. I’m no cupcake. I love football, I laugh hard and play hard. But yesterday was my first time getting both a manicure and a pedicure. Here’s how it happened. Shelly, my wife, was scheduled for a … More Archive: I did it, and I am glad
I love Texas. I will, however, admit that it took me a while to get to that point. Texas grows on you, which is saying a lot when you take a look at my lawn this time of year. I took a teaching job here in 1998 and moved here with my family from Idaho. … More Archive: Where Are the Green Christians?
I recently interviewed the academic dean of our fair university about something called the Success Initiative. It is a concerted action by faculty and administrators to direct the efforts of students toward “success”–that is, their ability to become the adults they should be when they graduate. It involves CORE–a series of classes that intentionally establish … More From the Archive: Unity, Not Uniformity
The saying is, when the world gives you lemons, make lemonade. I haven’t always believed that way, but in the past decade or so, that’s been my approach to life. And so far, it’s been pretty helpful. I’ll give you a somewhat shocking, yet true to life, example. In 1993 my father was diagnosed with … More Archive: When the World Gives You Vultures
I got home last night late, burdened down with worries. I stopped by the mailbox and grabbed the handful of bills there, then answered my cell as I entered to door of the house. While I was talking to my son on the phone, I flipped through the letters until I came to an innocuous … More Archive: Why I Turned Down $150,000
This is for those Freshmen who are a week away from arriving on campus. Remember you have the boilerplate excuse for all things, which is good only for nine months: “Please excuse me; I am a freshman.” I consider myself a pretty easygoing guy. Ask my students–at least those who like me–and they will … More Archive: Advice to the Lost
Tonight I got to watch the movie, “The Razor’s Edge,” based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of two young men who graduate from college in Illinois, then volunteer to drive an ambulance in France during World War I. The horrific experience they have causes one to cancel his wedding … More Archive: Root of All Evil
I heard a few days ago that Samoa is struggling with a problem. The island nation of Samoa does a lot of commerce with New Zealand and Australia. But Samoa is on the east side of the International Date Line and Australia and New Zealand are on the west side. What that means is that … More Archive: What Day Is It?
