Several days ago, a news outlet reported that a company now exists which offers businesses a unique service: the company will scour the social media on behalf of employers to discover what job applicants and employees are posting, and have posted, on social media sites such as Facebook and My Space. Apparently, this company has the ability to even discover postings that have been deleted. Read More»

As the pastor of a local church that is attempting to minister to people during difficult economic times, I fully understand that a church cannot give to every person in need. There’s always a limited supply of money and there will always be an unlimited amount of need.

In our church, during these tough times, we try, as best we can on limited funds, to first assist those of our congregation who are hit by the economic crisis. Once in a while, we may be able to help some in the community. Unfortunately, we simply can’t meet every need. Read More»

When I was at East Tennessee State University working toward my Bachelor of Social Work degree, I learned of the “Crab Effect.”

The Crab Effect can be illustrated in the following story:

While vacationing in Florida, a man observed a bucket of crabs on a fishing dock. While all of the crabs were either motionless or squirming at the bottom of the bucket, one little crab kept crawling up the side in an effort to reach the top. Read More»

In the police world and in the professional sports world, a rookie stays a rookie for about a year. I’m not sure when the rookie status comes to a close in the motorcycling world, but, if a year is the standard, then I am no longer a rookie.

It has been just over a year since I took a motorcycle riders class and earned my motorcycle endorsement on my driver’s license. Since that time I have put some 12,000 miles on my 1999 Harley-Davidson Road King and have made three extended road trips to other states. Read More»

A couple of months ago, I received a call from Susie Morrison who asked if I would be willing to be a guest speaker at the Fayette Starr’s Mill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The requested topic would be “The Constitution and God,” since the members of the DAR would be kicking off Constitution Week. I immediately accepted. Read More»

This has been and will be for me and my family a week of anniversaries.

Last Monday, my wife and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. I referred to the event in church as the “completion of 40 years of a life sentence without parole.”

Guys grinned, women glared: so I guess I am in trouble — again. Read More»

Robert Emmett Judge was killed on Sept. 11, 2001. The son of Irish Catholic immigrants, Judge was one of a pair of fraternal twins. He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., during the great depression and developed, at an early age, a love for the poor, often giving his last quarter to beggars on the street.

Judge’s father died of a slow and painful illness when the boy was 6 and Judge worked to shine shoes to earn money for the family. At the age of 15, he entered a formation process to become a Franciscan. Read More»

Back in the spring some bureaucratic types in the Great State of New York announced plans to ban certain kid’s activities on playgrounds. Legislation was apparently introduced to “protect” kids from the horrors of dangerous activities.

What was banned? Games like “mumbley peg,” which all the kids in my neighborhood played back in Tennessee, a game that involved throwing knives? Nope.
BB gun battles, which I also regularly engaged in during neighborhood conflicts in the surrounding woods? Nope.

How about model rocket fights? Those were pretty cool. Read More»

The nation of Iran is going to the dogs. No, they really are. Literally. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal ((July 18, 2011), Iranians are going to great measures to defy an Islamic Republic edict: buying and selling dogs. Read More»

When I was about to enter the 8th grade, I decided to go out for football at Ross N. Robinson Junior High School in Kingsport, Tenn.

The problem with that was that I had never played football (nor had I been on any organized sports team), had only been to one live football game, and was nowhere close to being athletic.

In those days, not everybody who went out for the team was selected. There were about 35 uniforms and if a student wasn’t in the top 35, he got cut. Read More»