Harrowing of Hell

Before the funeral service of a saint, his relative asked me a question. “What happened to Christ during the time between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection?”  In the church this is call the “Harrowing of Hell.

Obese more prone to COVID-19 effects

Family physician Mark Hyman, M.D. said being dangerously overweight raises our risk for death by more than three times. We all know that obesity is bad for our health. But now, it’s much more so during this very dangerous COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Mother Earth gets her day in the sun

This column was co-written with Kim Hainge, who for many years wrote an informative and much enjoyed column for The Graham Star.  Her insights expanded our understanding in a most delightful way about the natural beauty that surrounded us.

It's not all sunshine for seniors

Across the United States and much of the world, students are missing months of school due to COVID-19.  Many of these students are high school seniors, myself included.  Seniors are missing a part of our lives that we have looked forward to for many years.

Life, love and faith

Practically every day for almost five weeks, my wife and I watched two determined bluejays build a nest in the V of an oak tree outside our den window.  They showed up early, usually by daybreak, to begin their labor.

'An April morning can make us sing'

Spring mornings are a lot like Christmas.  Each day, we get up and go out into the yard … or walk along the creek or visit the horses in the pasture.  And each day, each morning, we find something new the sun has brought us.

Hargrove and Crozier: heroes or villains?

Let’s think about Detroit bus driver Jason Hargrove. He was a hard-working, public employee, who got so upset over an unprotected coughing passenger that he went on Facebook to bitterly complain about unappreciated blue collar workers not being respected as they labored to serve the public.

Ways to keep healthy during quarantine

Let’s admit the fact that the stay-at-home order related to the COVID-19 virus made everyone quite impatient, restless, upset and any other negative feeling you can think of. People have been asking about when will the normalcy of our lives be back once again.

Be wary of coronavirus protocol

I was reminded by historian Dr. Philip Jenkins, Baylor University, that pandemics and plagues were a normal occurrence in ancient and not so ancient times.  I know religious services and public gatherings were banned during the polio era of the 1950’s.

Mark Twain ... for President

What if Mark Twain were around today to run for president? Well, he actually threatened to run 141 years ago, but he apparently changed his mind, or else found funnier material. He wrote an essay, “Running for President,” which appeared on June 9, 1879.