Forgotten Failures

Abraham Wald was a Hungarian Jew who fought in WWII and was responsible for untold numbers of pilots and crew members coming back alive from engagements over Europe. He did all this from an office in New York City. His weapons were mathematics and statistics, and his battlefield was data used to create solutions to…

Read More

Lying Labels

Thomas the Apostle got a bad rap. Branded forever as “doubting Thomas”, the label unfairly reduced him to a one-dimensional character and forever tainted the name Thomas. I have always been personally offended by this. Labels are conflicted things. Summing up a person or a product in a simple, easy to grasp, and memorable label…

Read More

Trust Issues

My son borrowed his friend’s dad’s Mercedes AMG convertible for prom. When he told me he might borrow the car and asked me what I thought, I tried to be careful how I responded. Growing up, we didn’t have friends with cars that nice. I went to prom in my ’65 Chevelle Malibu (no, it…

Read More

Salty

I have a good friend who puts extra salt on everything. With some effort, I have been able to convince them to at least try the food before adding salt, but after a taste, the salt always goes on. We have five basic tastes: salt, sweet, sour, bitter and umami (the taste of glutamic acid).…

Read More

A Work Of Art

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (which I recently visited) is an incredible testimony to determination, creativity, and faith. Started in 1907, the structure was completed in 1914, but it took several more decades for the church to be “finished.” One of the reasons it took so long is the church contains 83,000 square feet…

Read More

Sum It Up

Résumé comes from the French, résumer, meaning “to sum up.” Curriculum Vitae, more commonly referred to by its shorthand abbreviation CV, is a Latin term meaning “course of life.” A résumé lists work history and experiences along with a brief summary of skills and education; the CV is a far more comprehensive document listing—in thoughtful…

Read More

Be Good To Yourself

I have always said there is truth in Rock-n-Roll. Popular music is just that, because it is about themes we can all relate to—like love and heartbreak, winning and losing, being lost and becoming found, and all the others of an endless array of experience and emotion. One of the bands that resonated with my…

Read More

What I Like About You

I was able to attend the Big 12 Wrestling Championship with my youngest son who is a high school wrestler. If you read last week’s post, I was grateful to add three days of quality time with him to the ever-dwindling number of days I have left. I also love to watch wrestling and love…

Read More

Leading The Flock

I spent the night once in the DuPage County Jail in Chicago. I got there by being a leader, leading five other young men in the wrong direction. I saw a video recently that reminded me when a leader is wrong, it has serious impacts on many other people. In this video, we are watching an unremarkable street…

Read More

Trust Gives You Wings

During a luncheon at Wings Special Needs Community, the presenter made a statement that stuck in my mind. Wings is a day program in OKC for adults with developmental disabilities. They provide carefully curated programs designed to enhance independence, grow life skills, and allow members to live vibrantly. The speaker said that when working with the…

Read More