Martin

St. Martin of Tours was born in 316 AD in what is now Hungary. Though we do not know the day of Martin’s birth, we do know the year and the location. These metrics are important because they put him in the time and place of the Roman Empire. We also know that Martin was…Read More

Our World is in Trouble; First We Need to Fix Ourselves

This column was originally published in the Gaston Gazette, 11/14/21. We have been business friends for two decades. I like to think we are more deeply connected. He is a good person, though our backgrounds and perspectives are vastly different. He does not wear socks. I try to think of him as a young man,…Read More

The Richest Man in Babylon

Much has been written about the concentration of wealth in America.  As we move closer to the fall elections, the wealth gap is likely to gain even more attention. In a January 2019 Yahoo article titled, “Top One Percent Own 50% of Stocks,” financial reporter Heidi Chung said the wealthiest people in America own half…Read More

color of our skin

The Color of Our Skin

My wife Carla shares a story of when she was a little girl of about four years old. Her mother took her to a store in the big city of Gastonia. I’m assuming it was Kress’s Dime Store on Main Street. There Carla was permitted to select her first baby doll. I can see her…Read More

A New Beginning

According to the National Forest Service, in every forest fire there is an element of new beginning.  Certain species of pine trees develop very thick, nearly fire-retardant bark that protects the living tissue of their trunks. Lower limbs drop off over time, making it less possible for fire to climb to the more vulnerable tops…Read More

voting

Presidential Standards

When our republic was formed, it was determined that the states would elect representatives to a national convention, and the representatives, as delegates from the states, would elect a chief executive to be called “president.” Our first president was George Washington, hero commander of the Continental Army that defeated Great Britain in the Revolutionary War….Read More

what we can learn from the epiphany

What We Can Learn From The Epiphany

Like many in our community, I was raised Baptist. In my case, it was worse. My father was a Baptist preacher for more than fifty years. As a young child, I was a Royal Ambassador, proficient in Bible drills. I could quote many important passages of scripture from the King James Bible. I earned Sunday…Read More