Don’t fly the coop; write in it

People have a variety of places where they’re comfortable writing—places where their imaginative stories can flow freely without the interruptions of whiny children, barking or meowing pets or even the constant ringing of your cellphone. From separate writing rooms to a private room in your home to a particular table at a coffee shop to…

Message of love shuts out one of hate

Churches have a reputation for trying to help solve the world’s problems. Sadly, churches also have the rep for ignoring the Lord’s commandment to love thy neighbor, which often requires people outside the church to come forward and resolve the situation. A church in Lincoln, Nebraska, decided that a faithful 13-year-old boy should no longer…

Political parties more of a threat to society than anything else

It’s a little over a month before the next election in November, and there’s a very grave threat to our free society. It’s in Congress. It’s in our justice system. It’s even seeped into the hallowed halls of the White House. Political parties. They just need to die. Whether it’s peacefully in their sleep or…

It’s never easy to say goodbye to your best friend

Today, I’m saying goodbye for the last time to one of the best furry friends God could have given me, someone who has been my companion, a source of support, a source of laughter and my shadow. It’s something that all pet owners have to face, but it’s never something that’s easy. Toby came into…

Halloween cancelled… or not?

The coronavirus pandemic has cancelled most of 2020. Sports leagues postponed to late summer, theatrical productions cancelled or fading to virtual shows. Community festivals 86’d because they might—gasp—draw a crowd. All of that was bad enough, but then I saw a headline that made me bare my fangs, draw out my claws and look around…

No one who fights for freedom is a loser

Disparaging our men and women who don military uniforms and fight for our freedom is wholly un-American. It ranks right up there with not standing for the National Anthem or burning the American flag. It’s a slap in the face to all the things that make this country so beautiful and wonderful. The Atlantic recently…

Not that trope again—LGBT readers describe their lit peeves

As an author, it is important to figure out what readers want so that you not only come up with something beautiful that you can live with, but it’s something that other people will read. By that same token, it’s also important to figure out what readers don’t want. I was on Facebook today, and…

Latest violence in Kenosha may have been a cry for peace

The shots might have been fatal, but they might have also served as a wake-up call. Everybody’s painfully aware of the violence engulfing southern Wisconsin after a Black man named Jacob Blake was shot by a white officer in Kenosha during a domestic dispute call. It didn’t take long for the protests to begin—and it…

Police shoot Black man; governor shoots off his mouth

It’s starting to become a habit. Black man. White cops. Mix with a flurry of bullets. Put them together and you get protests that turn into riots that damage property and devastate cities. It happened again Sunday as Jacob Blake was shot seven times in Kenosha, Wisconsin, by the police. The shooting took place around…

Pardon me? On second thought, don’t

Those who don’t learn history are doomed to pardon it. Presidents and governors have a wide variety of powers, the power to pardon among them. Leaders have used that ability to right wrongs, establish limits on excessive punishments and restoring the reputations of the innocent. This week, President Donald Trump exercised that power and pardoned…

Marge and in charge: ‘Simpsons’ owns campaign adviser

Sometimes, politics can be funny. That might seem like a bizarre thing to say in this day and age, considering that most politicians are about as popular as a colonoscopy, but bear with me on this one. We’re used to politicians taking jabs at each other. Occasionally, they resort to picking on an average Joe…

It’s not about race; it’s about power

Five-year-old Cannon Hinnant will never have the chance to grow up. He will never even have the chance to go into kindergarten. Cannon’s life was cut tragically short because someone five times his age came up to him with a gun and shot him in the back of the head. An adult killing a child…