Finally

Here’s a blast from the past. About five years ago, I published this story in Optometric Management, one of our trade rags that I contribute to now and then. “Mr. Skinner,” if you’re still out there driving that John Deere, keep on truckin’, but watch out for that…doh!…never mind.
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It seemed he’d helped me more than I’d helped him.
Mr. Skinner kept his independence through difficult circumstances. He was legally blind but he refused to let that take away his freedom of living.
Recently, he came to my office for his annual exam. The familiar tapping sound and a glimpse of his red-tipped cane made me recognize him immediately.… Read the rest
In a curious case of life imitating art, my old high school friend Eric Ferguson has decided to borrow a few pages from one of my favorite movies in his bid to unseat incumbent Republican Allen Dudley in the Ninth District race for the Virginia House of Delegates.
It’s an interesting time to be a conservative Democrat in Southwest Virginia. The fine, salt of the earth folks there don’t care much for either Blue State, tree-hugging progressives or button-down, country club Republicans. So, what’s a good conservative Democrat to do? Why you fashion yourself the “Pro Guns, Pro People” candidate and conjure up the ghosts of FDR and “Giv’em Hell” Harry Truman of course!… Read the rest
Many dream of a corner office with a great view. I don’t exactly have a stunning view from my office window, but when I look into the eye–the “window” of the body–I behold a sight which still leaves me breathless: a reddish-orange ocean and crisscrossing canals of branching blood vessels delivering and returning their life-giving load.
On a day when scripture may seem a little arcane, my prayers dry and stale and everyone (including me) possessed of the devil himself, God often whispers to me, through the beauty of this intricate organ of sight, “Peace, be still. Everything’s gonna be awwwright now.”… Read the rest
This being my virgin voyage into the bloggy cybersea, I feel a little pressure to say something extraordinary. The problem is, I’m a pretty ordinary guy as I’m sure will be plain to all soon enough. My life could be summed up with the following quote:
I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.” –Helen Keller
I probably harbor a secret wish that this will be a million-hits-a-day “mother of all blogs,” but in reality I would be happy to simply converse with a few kindred spirits who share my desire for joy in the journey and my restlessness and longing for the Kingdom Come.… Read the rest