Tagged With: influence
100-Word Stroll, 11/21/16: INSIDE THE WRAPPER
My racing thoughts came to a tire-smoking NASCAR stop. I backed up and read it again. It read the same way. The cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. I thunk thoughts. Bad coffee doesn’t become good by using nicer cups. Washed, polished crystal can’t transform mediocre coffee. Anyone with some pride tries to … Continue reading
100-Word Stroll, 9/24/16: THAT AIN’T NURTURAL
Remember back when we used to write to one another? We even used cursive as we were taught. Paid attention to proper grammar. Like that. We wrote complete sentences and dared not try substituting single vowels for words. We tended to think more and deeply because we refused to allow life’s pace to become a headlong rush toward tomorrow. … Continue reading
QTMs for 7/7/16: BIG DADDY IS DEFINITELY WATCHING YOU
The Police: Every breath you take and every move you make Every bond you break, every step you take, I’ll be watching you Every single day and every word you say Every game you play, every night you stay, I’ll be watching you I’ll be watching you Every breath you take and every move you … Continue reading
QTMs for 6/11/16: OKAY, JESUS – WHAT’S WITH THAT? – PART II
If you’re one of those impatient, self-important types who thinks your time is too valuable to go back and read Part 1, believing yourself bright enough to know what I’ve written leading up to this point, you shouldn’t be reading this in the first place. Go away. This will do you no good. I … Continue reading
QTMs for 5/20/16: WHAT IF . . .
Maybe imperfection is perfection in disguise. We all know that Adam and Mrs. Adam were the sum total of perfect humanity, in our recorded history. Two. And since neither you nor I are one of those two, a couple of things seem equally counterproductive: using perfectionism to excuse doing little or nothing to excel in … Continue reading
QTMs for 5/16/16: “YEAH, WELL, IF ADAM HAD BEEN A LIBERAL —-“
I think I’ve figured it out. Christians – derisively called Those Conservatives or The Far Right by those of the port-turning persuasion – habitually pray and tell God, “I’m sorry” more because they’re trying to please Him. Nominal, professional or non-Christians think that’s cute, that actual Christians are mentally weak, and never tell God anything – let … Continue reading
QTMs for 5/6/16: THE MOTHER TIME BUILT
“You have the coolest parents!” Do you have any idea how desperately I tried to keep my friends from knowing my parents? Really meeting them and letting them, like, talk? Even the thought of my dad and mom’s dull, blunt monochrome style t-boning our world’s brilliance and sharded, bursting colors left me in paroxysms of horror, … Continue reading
APPLAUD THE OTHER GUY
Jim Stovall wrote it: “You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we help one another, everybody wins.” This caught my spirit’s shirttail because I’ve wondered for years at the dearth of such open, honest appreciation for what you yourself … Continue reading
QTMs for 2/21/16: I DIDN’T COME THIS FAR TO JUST COME THIS FAR
Don’t you just love people who look at the part of you most visible to them, and decide from that partial view that they know you – and set out to direct your living from then on? And isn’t it telling that the majority of them tend to have made a spectacular hash of their own lives? We … Continue reading
QTMs for 1/19/16: Kitty Jane and Joel Clyde
My mother’s parents. Those were their names. Kitty Jane Kingsland and Joel Clyde Wise. Grandpa Wise was a big, strong man with a mercurial temper and a wide mean streak, an old railroader from a hard-drinking family, all of whom were incredibly gifted with making music. Much of our family’s musical acumen came through his genetic offering. With his sons … Continue reading