It’s been said that no one is just one thing. Even Hitler liked dogs. It may seem a simple thought, but it got me to thinking: what am I besides the obvious? What have I done in my life that might seem incongruous or inexplainable to anyone who wasn’t there in the same time frame?…
Way back in the latter half of 2001, I had someone ask me this: “If you got on a plane with someone from the middle east, would you want to sit next to them? Or far from them?” My answer was that I wanted to sit right next to them. I saw it as an…
A few years back, almost 30 now I guess, I was a firearms instructor and was at the range with several officers who needed to complete their annual qualifications. Keeping in mind that most shooters, in my experience, paid attention and tried to shoot their best, with understandable concern about their score. After all, if…
Past experience has shown that all of us have times in our life where we feel like we’re “close to the edge.” That edge is usually visualized or shown in images as a cliff, most often with an ocean or other large body of water at the bottom. In a variety of conversations held with…
I recently read an article about the new tattoo rage: a semi-colon. People are apparently getting them tattood anywhere and everywhere: behind their ear, on their wrist, ankle, foot, lower abdomen, butt, etc… yes, anywhere and everywhere. The “movement” was apparently started in 2013 and is meant to express that, at any given moment, life…
In 1964, in the western hills of Maryland, a boy was born into a relatively poor family and was immediately taken away from that family by the Welfare Department in the county. Assuming that the boy had a life laid out ahead of him that was similar to that of his siblings (or at least…
In today’s world, it’s near impossible to get through a day without feeling the impact of social media in some way. A media on the big social media outlets is all but mandatory for most companies. For those running their own businesses, social media is a valuable marketing tool but also can serve for research,…
Throughout our childhood we are taught what’s good and what’s bad, or at least we’re taught what our parents teach us is good or bad… what behavior is acceptable or not. We get punished for everything we do outside of the rules they put in place for us. Those rules and behaviors become the foundation…
Three teenagers attack an art teacher and beat her to the ground on video… A group of teenage girls trap and beat another teenage girl until she’s in the hospital severely injured… An elementary school child is pushed on the playground, tells the pusher not to do that again and gets punched for having said…
Author’s Note: This was originally written in June of 2007 – 15 years ago. It is still as applicable today as it was (I believe) when I first wrote it. Yes, there are some political outlooks herein and if you disagree with them, that’s cool. We’re all entitled to our opinion. – – – –…
Throughout the course of my law enforcement career it has constantly caught my attention how many of my fellow officers – most especially the ones that seem to perform on the street in ways that demand respect – have played contact sports. Given that most of my contemporaries are 45 years of age or older,…
Most recently I had a conversation with a gentleman who is a Marine, a veteran police psychologist and an avid supporter of self-defense. The conversation started because I had been asking questions about families and the environment set dependent on whether the family itself – that being the mother and father (or other primary care-givers)…
When you’re a child, everything you have to remember is about how to get through the day. Parents get you up and tell you what to wear. You know you have to brush your teeth, go to school, when to be home and all the rest. If you forget something, it’s far from the end…
This past Sunday evening (as I write this) my wife and I enjoyed an evening at a friend’s house. We sat on the patio with he, his wife and his son, who just happens to be the same age as our youngest son. Difficult topics were being discussed and, at one point, I commented on…
A few months back my wife and I attended a social gathering of some friends and folks with common interests. One of the attendees was a lady who was celebrating her 45th birthday and the hosts were quite encouraging about everyone wishing the woman a happy birthday. They wanted us to help bring joy and…
On one of my social media feeds, a man I’ve met only briefly but who I hold in high regard posted (paraphrased): “In a cosmic sense, man isn’t far above the cockroach and we might do well to remember that.” Another comment was made that there is a distinct difference between those who recognize that…
I was just looking at what is probably one of my favorite photos from recent years: it’s a picture taken at Disney World while my wife, son and I were on the Tower of Terror ride. In the photo, captured by the ride’s camera during the lifts and drops, my son and I are both…
I know that we all have heard these three rules before, but it seems like every time they pop up in my social media feeds or they get referred to by someone I know… I’m reminded of different parts of my life and when I learned these lessons. It’s interesting (to me) to see where…
When I was in my teenage years, I remember my father, almost every night, sitting on his bed, just staring into space… or at least, that’s what I thought. When I asked him about it one day he told me he was meditating. When I asked why and what about he told me that he…
The glory days of spring and summer have passed. The days are shorter, the nights are longer, the fires are warm and blankets are good. Snuggling occurs far more often. For all that, many people will tell you “spring” if you ask them what their favorite season is. They’ll cite the rebirth, the returning greenery,…