If you sense that I take great care when it comes to definitions, it is not a coincidence. Terms like sexual orientation, gay, straight, and same-sex attracted are socio-political constructs that seek to simplify what I view to be something for too complex to deserve simplification and relegation to categories or camps.

If you knew me 22 years ago, you would have not really have known me. Who I was on the inside and who I was on the outside were two different men. There’s an old Freudian-type of idea that men with facial hair are symbolically hiding something. I don’t really buy that idea, but for […]

I grew up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and knew that genealogy was an important thing. When I was very little, I didn’t know why, but my mother was into it, my aunts were into it, and my grandmother was really into it. She lived in a trailer behind my […]

It has been a long time since I’ve posted. I’ve been working on a new business with my best friend, Drew Stinson, as my partner. It’s amazing how much time it takes and I’ve never known a lot about things like employees, payroll, taxes, and accounting. One of the main reasons for doing that is that […]

In life, it is often helpful to know what came before, what events triggered other events. That kind of information can help us understand life and make better choices. It can comfort us to have an explanation for the difficult things and give us an understanding of why we feel the way we do.

Happiness comes from accepting the lot we have been dealt and building on it. To me, all negative experiences are more than just lessons learned. They are the building blocks of strong character, but only if those negatives experiences are embraced and accepted as what we have been given to work with.

As I wrote, Granny and I talked. It wasn’t always about the ancestors, but when she knew something about the person whose name I was writing down, she would tell me stories about them. There was something about it that delighted me.

Advent is always one of the busiest times of the year for me. But it’s a great one as well. It offers some time for quiet reflection and recalling some of the memories of Christmases past.  3 people like this post. Like Unlike

I have always repudiated any philosophy that is based on a victim posture. This idea that women are frail, inferior, and in need of male protection is the most odious philosophy I can think of in terms of damage to women. I raised strong children who can make their own decisions and deal with the consequences of those decisions.

In other times in my life, I might have given into temptation and done something I shouldn’t have. In the midst of the anxiety and discouragement though something happened that was different. I found a place in this noisy bustling city of quiet, and there I prayed. As I did so, I felt the anxiety and discouragement leave. And I realized the reason for the change was that I had decided to be still. And in that stillness, I found peace.

Another Christmas is here. It’s been different in a number of respects, but one thing that I have discovered is that all that I love about Christmas is still with me and it’s something that is not taken away by mass commercialism, loss of a loved one or any outward cause. The wondrous and sacred […]

It has been quite a long time since have written on this blog. There are a couple of reasons for that. I had started to write a post in October and then my father died on October 16th. My father had a special love of Christmas and particularly the Christmas church services that were part […]

Sometimes family relations are not the picture of peace and tranquility that we  wish they were. Sometimes it can be downright ugly and people can wind up hurt. So what can one do under such circumstances? Go to the hills. 8 people like this post. Like Unlike

Earlier this week, I celebrated my thirty-third wedding anniversary, married to the lovely, talented, and magnificent former Miss Barbara Wade. I’m fortunate to have found whom I consider to be the best woman on the planet. I often get a chuckle when someone describes a very minor accomplishment, and someone sarcastically replies, “And they said […]

My wife and I recently returned from a trip to California to visit our daughter, her husband, and their children. My grandchildren are all beautiful and sweet. I wish we lived closer. Our other grandchildren who live close to us are also wonderful. We get to see them more often. We get to see our […]