Always Reforming

I don't think I can Fall asleep  Without you Anymore. Your warmth Is My warmth, Your skin  Is My skin. I don't think I can Face the day Without you By my side. Your blood  Is  My blood, Your soul  Is  My soul. I don't think I can Be myself Without you Anymore. Your life Is My life, Your strength Is My strength.

We all know what's going on. We all know that Washington is full of criminals. We all know that fiscal responsibility is a laughable, distant memory. We all know that politicians pretend to care about us while enriching themselves. We all know that our political process is a partisan joke. We all know that our economy is a house of cards, endlessly tottering on the edge of collapse. So, we make memes. We make memes about toilet paper. We make memes about Jeffrey Epstein and Twisted Tea. We watch cat videos.  We watch sports while drinking light beer and spiked seltzer. We debate whether Jordan or LeBron is the GOAT while Western Civilization crumbles around us. We all know. Or maybe we don't. Maybe there are people out there who are just that blind.  Maybe there are sheep out there longing to be herded. Maybe there are zealous adherents to the religion of politics, worshipping at the feet of politician priests.  I'm not sure which is worse.  

Since details of the new stimulus package began to emerge, the Internet has been abuzz.  Not only was the lengthy bill handed over with far too little time for our representatives to read it, but, like the first bill, it allocates billions of dollars for large corporations and other special interests.  As one would expect, many folks are bemoaning the fact that we are again bailing out the billionaires .  I have seen many of my friends, from both sides of the aisle, upset with this fact, and rightfully so.   What is frustrating is that many of my liberal friends view this is as Left vs. Right issue.  The woke, socialist-leaning generation seems to think that fiscal and political conservatives are deeply imbedded in a love affair with the Wall Street billionaires that rule the world.  The Left, they tell us, cares about the working class, common man, while the Right cares only about helping the rich get richer.  They look at the poor on the Right a...

Written in 2016 after the birth of my son. Remember, my son, You are your father, His strengths will gird you up, His weaknesses must be overcome, Try your best not to resent, Nor idolize, him, Learn from his humanity. Remember, my son, You will marry your mother, Find someone who will love you that much While supplementing your shortcomings, Always put her first, Always kiss her goodnight, Never let her go. Remember, my son, Sometimes you just can't win, Others will disappoint And be disappointed by you, The criticism will confuse you, And break your heart, But they still love you. Remember, my son, To forge your own path Without abandoning the truths Passed down by your fathers, Pursue your passions, But use them to serve Your God and your family. Remember, my son, You're imperfect and finite, You cannot do everything, Embrace your limitations, but Determine to overcome them, Choose a direction and Give it all of your heart. Remember, my son, To practice moderation, Don't...

Written in December of 2016. Hey, Mom, I guess it's that time of year again, Time to write my annual melodramatic poem about you, I think I forgot--just for a moment--that you died on Christmas day, Then I remembered again, Oh, yeah, I thought, That's why I'm not really that into Christmas, Or maybe that's just my excuse. I sat and read your obituary the other day, I let myself cry, Sometimes it just hits you, The warm air was blowing in my face as I drove down Cleveland Ave, Christmas lights lined the busy road, The tears came as I Know You're Out There Somewhere Played on the radio. I guess we all end up as just another article In the back of the newspaper, But you were so much more to me.

Rest a moment, My soul, Just learn to be still, Let the chaos Roll past you, Let the Peace  Of the Lord Be your strength. Rest a moment, My lips, Just keep your silence, Let the strife Disappear, Let the Word Of the Lord Be your song. Rest a moment, My mind, Just humble yourself, Let go of Distractions, Let the Truth Of the Lord Be your guide. Rest a moment, My feet, Just stay in one spot, Let the world Keep moving, Let the Way Of the Lord Be your path.

Cases. All we hear every day is cases .   Cases, cases, cases, cases, cases, cases.   Every time I hear that word I wonder how many of these cases were: Asymptomatic False positives later shown to be negative Presumptive cases Cases diagnosed virtually Repeat positives while trying to obtain a negative. At this point there are only two things of which I am confident.  Firstly, I am confident that there is no way to know what the real numbers are.  Secondly, I am confident that government bureaucracies are screwing everything up, per usual.  None of this is to say that COVID isn't real or that it isn't a big deal .   My point is simply that there is a perfectly valid reason that some of us are skeptical of the the cases count the minister of propaganda posts every day.    We aren't heartless or unscientific.  We're cynical. We're not crazy conspiracy theorists.  We just don't trust the numbers. We don't trust anything the...

This poem was written in December of 2017, on the eve of my 28th birthday. Like yesterday I recall That Xmas day, That thief, That cheat, That day that stole you from me, From us. Yesterday I tried  To imagine how life Would be If you had never been sick, I couldn't do it, Come to think, I never really knew that kind of life, Such a simple life, So uncomplicated by Blood clots and Coumadin and Extended hospital stays, All I know for certain is that I would be different, And people would get along differently, If you were still here. Yesterday It struck me What this year means, 28-years-old, 14 before, 14 after, Motherless for exactly Half my life, A milestone Marked by tears, A journey Marked by tattoos and Turmoil and Bad decisions and Opportunities for growth. What a strange way to end a poem, So confusing and open-ended, But that's just how this works.

1) There are many things in this world that are far more important than entertainment. 2) The vast majority of people in the Unites States are sheep who long to be herded . 3) Statists gonna state, whether they're Democrats or Republicans (I'm looking at you, Fuhrer DeWine). 4) You don't know what you have until you have nothing with which to wipe your butt . 5) Mankind's existence was not designed to be socially distanced . 6) Social media is pretty much of the devil . 7) Neighbors will turn on each other if the propaganda is right. 8) The medical system in the United States is about many things, but maintaining good health is not one of them.  9) Wearing a mask is significantly more obnoxious if you wear glasses. 10) Boy, do Americans love their fast food/take-out! 11) Rules are for the common man, not the elite ruling class . 12) Viruses have the ability to distinguish between celebrity funerals and normal-people funerals, between people walking in a resta...

This past Sunday was the first day of the Christian season known as Advent.  Advent is technically a season of penitence, or acknowledgement of and sorrow for sin, but it is defined by our expectation of the birth of the One who came to be save us from the guilt and corruption of our sin.  Had you asked me about Advent 10 years ago, I would most likely have responded in arrogant ignorance.  I imagine myself making a snide remark about Christians copying pagan holidays or something like that.  That definitely sounds like me at 20.  Now, here I am at 30, not only looking forward to celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday (a holy day on the Christian calendar), but actually observing the season of Advent itself.  2020 certainly has been full of the unexpected! For many Christians, observing Christian holidays is a way of expressing and experiencing our Faith.  The Church Calendar is a tool we use to deepen our personal faith by drawing us closer to G...