The Final Lesson of Baseball

November 2, 2023.Reading time 13 minutes.

It is not an exaggeration to say that I wept openly last night. It is not an exaggeration to say that as Dennise, Maria, and I leapt from our chairs, into the middle of the room —all in mutual tears, falling into a jumping bear hug— I clumsily and excitedly grabbed them so tight, it […]

The Generational Joy of Baseball

October 28, 2023.Reading time 13 minutes.

This will be my first Texas Rangers World Series without my Dad. As I wrote the other day, I got so much of the joy/heartbreak of baseball from my Father. If I am honest, I put my baseball addiction away for months at a time. Sometimes it just gets to be too much. I only […]

“A Red Letter Day”

September 21, 2018.Reading time 5 minutes.

I got a birthday present for all y’all today. Yes, today is my birthday. Yes, it’s the most awesome birthday on the calendar. September 21st is shared with amazing people like Bill Murray, HG Wells, and Leonard Cohen. It’s also the International Day of Peace, often the Fall Equinox, and the basis of the bitchin’ […]

Things I’m Glad My Dad Never Saw

July 16, 2018.Reading time 8 minutes.

I’ve been thinking about my Dad a lot recently. I’ve been thinking about things my Father never thought he’d see. A part of it has to do with my new commute. Turns out, there are several roads I can use to commute here to Grand Prairie. One of the path takes me down 190 (George […]

The Talk With My Dad

March 22, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

A year ago this week, we moved back into the log house. In the midst of many challenging things in life, this has been a great joy for us all. Here and there, throughout the year, I’ve posted “This Week in Home Improvement” posts here on FB. This is probably the last one. Over the […]

Dad’s March Madness Brackets

March 19, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Since we’re in the midst of March Madness, I thought I’d post these. These are treasures we found while cleaning out Mom and Dad’s house. They’re Dad’s hand-crafted brackets from the mid 1960s that he used to keep track of the tourney. Some NCAA. Some NIT. Some hand written. Some typed. The last one is […]

My Father’s Workbench

November 20, 2017.Reading time 16 minutes.

My Mother is moving. It’s a good thing. Downsizing. Big estate/garage sale on the day after Thanksgiving. Our own family-led “Black Friday.” Pray for us… But it means we are disassembling the home where she and Dad lived for 40 years. Closet-by-closet, room-by-room, we are pulling out all the lovingly stored items. “We,” by the […]

Frank’s Cafe

January 25, 2016.Reading time 3 minutes.

I continue to remember my Dad in all sorts of ways. One way is by pulling out, and finally finishing, this song I started years ago after a visit back to the place my Dad grew up (In Kentucky, just across the river from Cincy) So, here’s a demo. I really really like how it’s […]

Lay It Down (A New Song)

January 12, 2016.Reading time less than 1 minute.

I’ve always known grief is a process. As such, I’ve blogged and spoken of my Dad. It was almost certain I’d eventually write a song. So, here’s a demo…called “Lay it Down.” One thing’s for sure: It’s a lot easier to capture a range of emotion in a nine-page blog, than in a four minute […]

When Death Comes Like a Friend

November 23, 2015.Reading time 20 minutes.

Even in the midst of grieving my Dad’s death this Thanksgiving Week, I wanted to tell you what I am thankful for this year. Because even in the midst of our family’s loss, there is one thing that I know we all agree on that we are thankful for this Thanksgiving. But since I’m blogging, […]