Witty Witness

At a leadership conference I attended recently, the facilitator of the afternoon session told the room the following story (paraphrased from my memory)... "A man was walking down the road when he came across another man busting up rocks with a sledge hammer. The man working in the heat of the afternoon cussed and grumbled as he broke up the large rock. When the man walking down the road stopped and asked the man what he was doing, he replied that he was busting up rocks for some stupid reason, and he couldn't wait for 5 o'clock to arrive so he could leave this awful employment and go home. The man walking down the road walked a little farther and came across another man busting up rocks with a sledge hammer. The man working in the heat of the afternoon was grumbling a bit, but didn't seem quite as ill tempered as the man he had just met. When the man walking down the road stopped and asked the man busting up rocks what he was doing, he replied he was reducing the...

Her name was Angela, at least that was the name she was given, the name on the plaque I read carefully in the hot Jamestown sun. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement on the coast of Virginia in the early 1600's. I recently took my kids on vacation there for the last week of summer break. It turns out, my kids hate history, but love Busch Gardens. Who knew? I on the other hand, found myself captivated by the place, especially the story I learned about the life of "Angela." She was one of the first Africans to arrive in English America. Her life there wasn't easy, her journey to even arrive, was just as sad and brutal. She was just one of thousands of Africans captured in Angola by the Portuguese. In 1619 she was placed on a slave ship bound for Veracruz on the coast of Mexico. The ship never arrived. The slave ship Angela was on, was attacked by two English ships in the Gulf of Mexico and plundered of 60 "human cargo." Angela was one of tw...

Rushing out the door to her car, she looks down at her watch. She's already late. Her boss has warned her repeatedly about her habitual tardiness. If she didn't have to tell her seven year old ten different times to get out of bed, perhaps the morning routine wouldn't be so hectic and so stressful. A mile and a half from school, the brown haired boy in the back seat has a confession, "Mom, I forgot my library book and my spelling words." Her lunch break was already going to be rushed and abbreviated today, and now she'll spend her only hour of alone time, doing what her son should have done this morning. This evening, it's homework, baseball practice, baths, and bed. Some days it's more than she can handle. As a single mom, she wonders how much more she can take. Who is going to be strong for her? When will she ever get a break? Struggling to fall asleep, she can't shake the thought, "I'm just not enough."  It wasn't like...

"The only way you can change your man, is if he is wearing a diaper." I stumbled upon that quote recently on social media and despite men being the butt of the joke (pun intended), I admittedly found a lot of humor in the statement. Often times in relationships, we think we can somehow force or even coerce people to be different. 100% of the time however, we will fail. To the chagrin of ladies everywhere, none of you hold nearly that much authority or control over the opposite sex. Sure, we can influence the lives of others positively or negatively in many ways, but we certainly can't change that person into something else...into someone else. Not truly and not completely. I remember as I kid, I loved going to the zoo. The animals were great, but like most kids I loved the gift shop and souvenirs as well. I'm not sure about the zoo where you live, but the zoo closest to where I grew up, had machines scattered throughout the park, where for a small fee you ...

"Maybe it's too soon to say I love you." I don't remember every word from the Valentines Day card, but I vividly remember reading the words, "Maybe it's too soon to say I love you." To be clear, it was WAY too soon. Amber and I had only been dating a few weeks and equally important to share, we were only 15 years old at the time. Like I said, it was WAY too soon. However, it didn't occur to me at the time to be a premature utterance, and strangely I felt the exact same way. I loved Amber. At least "love" as a 15 year old knows what love is. Throughout our relationship since that February in 1996, we've had some truly amazing moments and experiences. We also had our fair share of gut wrenching difficulties as well. You see, it's easy to say "I love you." Words take little effort. Even toddlers can form the phrase, "I love you." Admittedly, it does in fact mean a lot when someone truly and genuinely tells you, ...

"What is the first thing you want me to say to you when you hear?" the mother signed the question to her hearing impaired son. The chance that the cochlear implants wouldn't work, wasn't even in the realm of possibility. "My name" her son responded. "It's as though I haven't got a name, because I've never heard it before." Think about how many times you hear your own name throughout the day. If you are a parent, like me, it's about 250 times more than you'd prefer. Yet, this young boy pleaded to be able to hear his own name. The scene is heartbreaking and from the opening moments of the video, you can't help but root for the boy. I've seen many other videos like it. The family gathers around in a hospital room, while the doctor turns on the implants for the first time. The patient begins to hear, cue the tears of joy that slowly roll down his or her cheeks, and the room is filled with elation. Video fades to black....

Trust me when I tell you, he's as chill as a sloth in a hammock. Since law school, I've been drawn to the cool smooth sound of Scott Miller. Scott is a singer/songwriter from Virginia but more accurately, he is a magician with words and lyrics. If you've never heard his music, do so. Sometimes referred to as "country-alternative" or "folksy music," I don't think that quite fits, but I can't more accurately describe it. Whatever it is, its great. Being a big fan, I was ecstatic when Amber told me she bought tickets to see Scott at the Bijou Theater on January 26th. I immediately planned it all out in my head. We would have a relaxing Saturday, then dinner and drinks downtown, then the concert. Then....life happened. Two kids basketball games, dance class for our middle daughter, and a unexpected doctor's visit for our younger daughter. Our oldest finished the day with three three pointers, our youngest with a fever of 102.1. With childre...