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Tractor Mentality
When I was 12 years old I was growing up in a semi-rural, semi-farming community, and one of the classes they insisted we take in school was agriculture. I vaguely remember having to identify various breeds of cow, and planting trees as a community project. It was the 70’s. Times were simpler. And Florida schools…
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Roots
If things go as planned I’m about to uproot myself and move 3000 miles across the country to a place I’ve never been, where I know no one. That’s pretty radical, I suppose. But my roots have never been deep. I have always sort of envied people with deep roots. People who go home for…
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I’m Fixin’ To
When I was 10 years old we moved from a mansion in Connecticut to a tent in Florida. I was uprooted from family and friends and seasons and all things familiar, and I never felt safe again. I was angry and terrified. My mother turned into someone I didn’t know. She would come home from…
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It’s No Honeymoon
I heard recently that the tradition of having a honeymoon after one gets married has some very nefarious origins. Back when abducting the bride from a neighboring village or tribe was even more commonplace than it is today, it was a good idea for the man to hide the woman for a couple of weeks.…
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The Wisdom of Maruge
This is Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge. He spent most of his life fighting for the independence of Kenya. For his troubles he saw his wife and two children slaughtered before his very eyes by the British Imperialists. He also spent 8 years in prison where he was tortured. They whipped him, they cut off his toes.…
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Turning Points
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the paths we take in life. None of us are on the same path, and none of us can really see the road ahead. It’s like driving with a blindfold on. Sure, you might be able to anticipate the occasional pothole or speed bump. You may even be…
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Give me Capitalization or Give me Death!
When I was a kid, I don’t remember what age, I had a teacher who used to like to give us a list of vocabulary words to memorize. Then we’d have a spelling bee in class. The first time she did this I was one of the last kids standing when she asked me to…
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Don’t Hold on to Bitterness
I got a friend request on Facebook from someone who made my life miserable in high school.
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Keep your Children Safe: Think Like a Pedophile
Controversial title, I know. But hear me out. Charish Perriwinkle, 8 years old, is dead. Most of you will not have even heard of her. She was abducted from a Walmart here in Jacksonville, Florida, and within hours her body was found and her abductor was apprehended. He was a serial pedophile, someone who should…
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Back to School at 46
A couple of years ago I decided that my life had hit a dead end and that what I needed was a massive “do-over”. So I quit my job, sold my house, and went back to college to get my third degree. The first time around I was straight out of high school, and it…