As so often happens, something came up in one of my social feeds that gave me pause to think. It was a picture of a tree growing up through a boulder, literally having split the boulder in two as it grew. The caption said, “Plant the seed.” It seemed a simple concept and we’ve all…
I always thought it was ironic that people assume soldiers and police officers are somehow ignorant or less educated than others. Just recently, as often happens, I came across a couple memes that made me consider how ridiculous that outlook could be, but also how important it is for soldiers and law enforcement professionals –…
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…
There was a time in my life, quite a number of years ago, when I was still aspiring to be a published author/writer. It was the 1980s and a person I knew assured me that I would never be a writer; that I had no hope; that I should stop wasting my time; that I’d…
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…
A very wise man once said, although I argued with him about it for quite some time, “Everything is a matter of perception.” I argued with him because I believed, at the time, that some things were not open to interpretation; that they weren’t open to perception; that they simply were. While I still believe…
Something a lot of my friends have heard me repeatedly say is, “We don’t stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing.” While I still believe that is, to some extent, true, I’ve also observed enough behavior from a few friends to believe that some people simply decide it’s their…
Full disclosure: When this image popped up in my social media feed, I was only four months away from being sixty anyway. So, that’s kind of a big cheat: Would I be willing to give up four months to get $50M? The real question is: would I be willing to gamble any time I have…
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,…
The year is 3023. Earth is a different planet than it was at the beginning of the 21st century. Fossil fuels are a thing of the past. Virtually everything runs on solar power. OPEC hasn’t been around since 2085 when the last oil pump in the world was shut down. When world powers realized that…
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…
A friend shared this with me and gave me permission to use it. It is… thought provoking. – – – – – It was a beautiful spring morning in mid-May. As the CEO pulled up to his reserved spot in front of the headquarters building, he took particular notice of all the flowers blooming in…
This article may not apply equally to all generations who read it. It will not necessarily apply equally to military veterans versus those who haven’t served. Keep in mind, as you read, that the purpose is to identify two different outlooks toward fighting and the challenge that can face law enforcement professionals as they have…
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. – – – –…
Fair warning: This is going to be a short rant about assumptions people make pertaining to age. Just recently I had someone tell me that I should, “Grow up and act your age.” My first reaction was to tell them to pay attention to their own behavior. After all, if they felt I was so…
Author’s Note: Republished almost 16 years after I originally wrote it. Still just as applicable today as it was then. As I type this it’s Sunday afternoon, November 12, 2006. Two days ago, November 10th was the Marine Corps’ Birthday (231st). Happy Birthday Marines! I’m proud to have to call my older brothers on that…
“It’s not how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and still keep moving forward.” Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in, well, Rocky Balboa.
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)…