Snapshots and Synapses

Walking through the war-torn rubble that used to be a city, the man paused and stared at the doll wondering whose blood now covered the toy. Where was its former owner now? So much had happened so quickly. The years since 2020 were a blur of activity… an assault against a society that could no longer tolerate change fatigue yet couldn’t stop to absorb the facts and see where it was all leading. In many ways, it was not a surprise. Just like the first Civil War in the mid-1800s, civil dialog had stopped in both government and society. Both sides had become so focused on what they believed that discourse disintegrated into disagreement, further dissolving into demonization of anyone with an opposing viewpoint. Mistrust grew as did the name-calling. Soon, brother was coming to blows against brother and militias clashed, soaking American soil with blood. Blood had soaked this cloth toy as well. The doll was now in his hand, replacing the rifle that he had gently laid down. Although covered...

The emperor has no clothes!  There’s a story I learned in my youth about an emperor who was deceived into buying a robe made of silk so fine that it was imperceptible. In truth, it was nothing, a mere fabrication of real fabric. Yet, believing himself to be wearing a fine and magnificent robe, he paraded down the street until a child remarked: “The emperor has no clothes!” Hearing the utterance the emperor ran back in humiliation.  I can imagine if this happened in our day and age how the TV pundits would quickly have a spin on the story. And of course, social media would have flurry of opinions over the issue: “The emperor was disgraced by an unruly child!”; “The emperor lost his mind!”; “The parents should be imprisoned!” Meanwhile, many would lose sight of the fact that it took a child to speak the truth that everyone else was too afraid to say.  “Be nice!”  Someone might have told that child to be nice. We tell our kids to “be nice” as if...

To say the least, it was unusual for a Destroyer to be the flag ship of an admiral, but this was such a small group of ships that the Commodore chose the USS William V. Pratt. It was the ship I served on as a junior officer, and I was fortunate for the experience. I was a new Christian, and one night I found myself in a theological debate with the Commodore over the question: Is man basically good? The flag officer insisted that man was inherently wicked, but I held onto the belief that man was basically good. From my perspective, the cause of bad behavior was that people were hurt by life’s experiences which created a cycle of pain, but I contended that if a person was treated well and educated, they would grow beyond their experience and learn to respond in a better, healthier way. The prevailing thought in 2020 American society holds the view I boldly debated with the Commodore. In that conversation so many years ago, neither one of us were able to sway the other person, yet I ackno...

Intimacy, Desire and Ability  “Boys use emotional intimacy to get physical intimacy and girls use physical intimacy to get emotional intimacy.” The words I heard in college returned to me as I read about a Scandinavian study that showed how 16 year old girls’ self-esteem declined when in a sexual relationship; conversely, 16 year old boys’ self-esteem went up. It made sense. The girls were selling a part of themselves to have a need met, but the boys were discovering a need they weren’t even aware of being fulfilled.  It also brought back to mind a book my future father-in-law handed me as I dated his daughter: “I Loved a Girl” by Walter Trobisch . Trobisch was an African pastor who brilliantly wrote about physical and emotional intimacy, using a triangle to illustrate the importance of balancing emotional and physical intimacy as a couple progresses in their relationship. I am so grateful for my father-in-law in general, and I especially appreciate him being bold and lov...