Musings

I was at West Point (Revolutionary War fort turned Military Academy) recently for leadership training with my team. West Point is literally named for the point of land that juts out into the Hudson River from the west bank as the river makes a tight S-curve. George Washington believed controlling this point and being able…

I rode the subway several times last week while I was in New York City (along with 6,335,700 other people). Every time I’m in Manhattan, it amazes me how much stuff is packed into the 23 square mile island. Over 1.7 million people live there, but the commuters raise that number to closer to 4…

Of course, you recognize that tagline. It was created in 1987 by Wieden + Kennedy to accompany Nike’s first major television campaign, and it was sparked by the last words of convicted murderer Gary Gilmore who said, “Let’s do it!” to the firing squad before his execution. Despite its inauspicious origins, this phrase has become…

When I was young, I loved to watch old sci-fi movies. One of my favorites was (and still is) the 1955 movie Tarantula about a lab experiment gone bad that results in a giant tarantula roaming the Arizona countryside eating cows and eventually an entire town before being taken out by the US Air Force. The movie…

It was wonderful to have several of my adult children join us for church on Easter. Our Pastor said something that caught my attention, though it was far from his main point. He was reading from Romans 10 where it says if we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths, we will be…

Growing up, my family remodeled two different houses while we lived in them. In addition to learning how to do most house repair jobs, I also learned about the value of buying good tools. When it came time to do a new project, my dad would buy the right tools for that job, and he…

I love Formula 1 racing. The combination of technology, skill, and speed are fascinating to me. While watching pre-race coverage, footage of a driver pretending to shift and steer while sitting against a wall before the race caught my attention. The driver wasn’t pretending; he was visualizing. He was driving the lap in his mind…

I was in a board meeting this week, and the term ex officio was used. You have probably heard the term at some point in your life. “Ex officio” is Latin, meaning literally “from the office”, and the sense intended is “by right of office.” Its use dates back to the Roman Republic. It means…

I had cataract surgery last week. I’m not an anxious or nervous person. Surgery doesn’t bother me, in fact, I usually want to help. For some reason, having my eye operated on was different. I was actually pretty anxious about it.  I’ve had poor eyesight my whole life. I’ve worn glasses my whole life. I’m…

If you now have a Gin Blossoms song playing in your head, welcome to my world! Robin Wilson, singing Doug Hopkins lyrics, says, “The past is gone, but something might be found to take its place.” When people talk about the story of the prodigal son, they usually focus on the son who takes his…