I sure hope not! — I like Jeff Hilles and follow him on Medium, but occasionally he has this way of stepping into the Medium blogosphere like someone stepping into a pile of dog poop and tracking it all through the house. …

What I missed the first time around — Motivational speaker, Tony Robbins, offers a fantastic list of topics and methods for improving our lives. His toothy grin assures us that you can attain the fullest version of your potential self if you buy his seminar package or program materials, all with a money-back guarantee. …

And why we need to resurrect God at all costs — “God is dead!” Friedrich Nietzsche turned over the tables of modern philosophical and theological thinkers when he declared one of the most profound and prophetic indictments ever uttered from the mouths of men when he wrote “God is dead!” in The Parable of the Madman in 1882. Time Magazine followed up Nietzsche’s theme…

What I learned watching the miracle-working man for myself — In the early 1990s, during the gilded age of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), a Christian evangelist named Benny Hinn was performing eye-popping miracles on TV. He was charismatic yet soft-spoken and disarmingly sincere and humble when interviewed. Benny was also a fantastic showman on stage. He promised wounded Christians intimate…

The tragic unexpected death of our unborn baby — “Tragedy doesn’t discriminate between men or women, race, social class, religion, political ideologies, or human desire. Instead, it wreaks havoc on its victims wherever it wills.” ~ AE 7:35 pm I’m physically exhausted, emotionally numb, and at the end of my patience. A hurried male nurse assisting my wife’s emergency surgery walks…

I was so careful to follow Medium's COVID-19 policies. Where did I go wrong? —

A true story of Post Viral Story Disorder (PVST) — I woke up with a hangover this morning. I’ve been drunk for a couple of weeks with the afterglow of my first mildly viral Medium story. I now clearly suffer from Post Viral Story Disorder (PVSD). [sigh] Writing the linked article above was a blur of fingers across my keyboard…

Stripping away the bias that clouds our thinking — You’ve heard it said, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, it’s better to keep your mouth shut. Some learn the hard way. At dusk, I pull into the parking lot at a live music club along the Willamette River in downtown Portland. It’s a dingy place with moss-stained…

Last in my poetic series, ‘Reflections’ is a short exposé and poem on personal tragedy and rebirth. — Years ago, tragedy befell an innocent like a string breaking on a puppeteer's handle. I am the puppet. Uncertainty. Confusion. Fear. Wreckage. The splintered mess, the carnage of my human soul, is the result. There is no undoing what is done. But now? Where is my beacon of light in…