Common Sense
2nd Cup of Coffee for 6/8/2020: I’VE GOT THE JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY, JO—WELL, IT’S SOMEPLACE DOWN IN HERE
“You happy now?” “Great. That make you happy, did it?” “Well, I just hope you’re happy!” Even our use of the word shows how fickle happiness is. ‘Happy’ can derive from two candy bars dropping from the vending machine. It can disappear just as fast when one gets hung up and you get nothing. Henri … Continue reading
2nd Cup – QTMs for 3/7/2020: WELL, ARE YOU?
Charlie “Tremendous” Jones once told me, “You grow when you can’t go on, but you refuse to quit!” I took what he said to heart, because I know he lived that philosophy. I’d read after him for years, and finally got the chance to meet him. I patiently stood in line for 8 months. When … Continue reading
A 2nd Cup for Valentines Day ’20: THE FIRST TIME I HELD HER HEART
My Valentine and I have been holding hearts for over 45 years, and we’ve managed it in the same way any of us walk with Jesus: by grace and through faith. It has been neither simple nor easy. We’ve literally known each other all our lives, so we sort of knew what we were getting. … Continue reading
A Sunday 2nd Cup for 1/26/2020: THE WONDERFUL LAND OF WILLBE
What you’re experiencing right now is the residual effect of your past thinking. Memories, past events, old relationships, and especially your own thoughts regarding them all? They’re influencing where you are right here, right now, today. It’s not the things. It’s your thoughts about them that are driving you. Or holding you back. What determines … Continue reading
2nd Cup Hash: LITTLE O’ THIS, LITTLE O’ THAT, & STIR – 1/21/2020
“Time to create,” said his heart. “It’s about time,” replied his soul. Why I write: because creating something that didn’t exist before is as close to magic as I’ll ever get. I wander through fiction to find the truth. Sometimes you can’t calm the storm, so it’s best to stop trying. What you can do … Continue reading
2nd Cup of Coffee, 4/8/19: WHO YOU TALKIN’ FOR?
4-year-old Randall was eating an apple in the back seat of the SUV, when he asked, “Daddy? Um, why is my appo tuhning bwown?” Clearing his throat, his father began. “It turns brown because after you ate the skin off, the meat of the apple was exposed to the air which caused it to oxidize, … Continue reading
2nd Cup Extra, 4/6/19: SLOW-DOWN THERAPY – IT’S JUST THE TICKET
The more observant of you have noticed there’s an ‘s’ now attached to the ‘http’, and there’s now a little padlock icon at the other end of the address box. That means this site now has the vaunted SSL Certificate installed, and is now secured. I’m thankful, for I’ve been needing just this therapy after … Continue reading
2nd Cup of Coffee, 4/3/19: 6 TREMENDOUS WAYS TO MAKE ‘LITTLE THINGS’ INCREDIBLY BIG
“Somebody needs to do something!” We’ve all heard it and we’ve all said it. All around you and me, social interaction has become antisocial, if not scarce. It is hard to not notice how decency, good manners, courtesy, mutual respect, and public decorum have all but disappeared. In their place, people routinely say and do … Continue reading
2nd Cup of Coffee, 3/27/19: 9 SACRED RULES FOR CREATIVE WEIRDOS
I’m always digging through old files and finding neat stuff. You know–like being allowed to dig through your grandpa’s ‘That Drawer’ out in his shop. That’s where these little jewels came from. The files, not the shop. It’s tougher than you know to not embellish each of these, but striving manfully, I push on through the … Continue reading
2nd Cup Freewriting From Years Past (3/9/19): HERE’S TO ALL THE ALMOST-WONS
If Batman was a writer, FREEWRITING would hang in a prominent spot on his utility belt. That’s how underrated a weapon freewriting is in the writer’s arsenal. Freewriting can be triggered by anything. A taste suddenly reminding one of a long-forgotten refreshment . . . An old, yellowing picture commemorating a youthful event . . . … Continue reading