The Not-So-Dead Sea Scrolls I enjoy drilling down on articles in the National Geographic, and this week NG is highlighting an article on the Dead Sea Scrolls and what they tell us about the thinking at the time of the life of Jesus Christ, and thus how that thinking impacted the development of early Christianity. This piqued my interest for two reasons. First, my general interest in antiquity and specifically the history of such an…
The Pacific Has No Memory The Shawshank Redemption has been the top-rated movie on IMDb ever since it went to video almost thirty years ago. Strangely enough, the movie was not a box office success, and while it was nominated for seven Academy Awards, it won not a one. It’s heritage was solid, having been based on a story written by Stephen King and adapted by director Frank Darabont, who never again did anything as…
A Blue Super-Moon As a nod to the uniqueness of the moment and as a bonus for my readers (at least those who like my stories), I am sending out a second story today, just like August is sending us a second full moon tonight at 9:30pm. A Blue Moon, as most of you know is when there is a second full moon in a month (a month being, by definition, a lunar cycle). That…
Gray Divorce I read two articles this morning with very different and noteworthy perspectives. One was from CNN on the topic of the trend among Baby Boomers towards choosing to live alone in later life. The other was from The Economist about happiness and how they have determined that happiness continues to rise, on a very steady upward curve, as we age. Since happiness is closely connected to relationships and being around people as well…
American Racist I just heard on the news that there was a shark attack on Rockaway Beach in New York City. My daughter and granddaughters go to my ex-wife’s beach club on Atlantic Beach at this time of year for some fun in the sun and at the beach. Atlantic Beach is a beautiful stretch of Long Island sandbar that happens to look right across the inlet to Rockaway Beach. Naturally, I couldn’t help myself…
Riding Into the Sunset Today I decided to take a Sunday ride since Kim is not home and my dance card was wide open. The weather was just about as perfect as it can be, and I took full advantage of it by heading out at 7:30am to catch the best of the clear morning sunshine and cool temperatures. I had a minor snafu in that my BMW R1250 GSA came up with a low…
Is the Bloom Off the Rose? I am sitting on our patio this sunny late July morning and there is a slight breeze from the east. I am doing what I always do in the morning if I am not rushing off to do something or go somewhere, I am trying hard to be in the moment and feel what I feel around me. I like the patio in the morning and in the late…
A Son is a Son When we were recently at the Lodge at Red River Ranch in Southern Utah, we had one evening when our plans to go stargazing got temporarily postponed due to a bull bison on the loose on the ranch grounds. The Lodge proprietor and general buffalo wrangler, Dave, was out with the cowpokes trying to do two things simultaneously. They needed to corral the young bull bison that had escaped its…
Tough Guys I’m a tough guy most of the time, but a tender guy at other times. I’m big and burly and I ride big motorcycles and have been the breadwinner for several families worth of dependants. That and the fact that I survived forty-five years in the top ranks of Wall Street, one of the tough guy arenas, makes me fit the tough guy profile. Buy I cry at sad movies and have a…
Masculinity is a Prison That title was the t-shirt worn at the family gathering in Utah last week by Kim’s 6’6”, 300-pound rugby-playing nephew who literally wears size 16 shoes. His name is Josh and he and his 6’4”, 340-pound, also rugby-playing, brother, Will are either the last gasp of the Gen X crowd or the first entrants into the Millennial cohort, depending on how you slice the generational cake. Both of these guys are…