I have worked in the homeless community in Tucson ever since I met my friends Carl and Chuck in 2012 in the book store at the Redemptorist Renewal Center in Picture Rocks, Arizona. Homeless himself for a while, Carl is the Director of the St. Francis Shelter in Tucson where Chuck is a board member […]
Category Archives: Heroes
Four Truths
Ten years ago, I completed and published my second novel, The Hamsa. The Hamsa is about human dignity, the fact that every child is born with human dignity, that it has NOTHING to do with race, religion or status in life, that NO ONE can take our human dignity from us. We can give it […]
Extremists
The lawlessness and chaos of recent days are greatly disturbing. Many years ago, I defined my three greatest heroes as Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. They were extremists and the three men have made the most profound and positive impact on humanity since hominids began to walk upright. Common to each is his […]
Making Lincoln Smile
I find it less easy to be critical of young people since my return to the desert. The kids in my neighborhood – a healthy mix from varied cultural backgrounds – are energetic, openly friendly and polite, and seem to spend less time fixed to video screens than I have become accustomed to. Early in […]
The Third Fall
There is no disgrace in failure. It is okay to fail, and it is good to recall your failures because when you do, you will remember the times you dropped to your knees and then found the strength and courage to stand back up. I believe that Jesus is the word incarnate. He lived for […]
If You Have a Father
If you have a father, if you have had a father, if you are a father… the list could go on. Without a doubt, you are on the list. If you are – which you are – you are obligated to watch “The Sparrow.” It is a mere 5 1/2 minutes. Nearly a two decades […]
Another Light in the Heart of Darkness
My new novel, The Faith of Job is now available. I invite you to click the cover and experience the story that has been an intimate part of my life since the first seed was planted over two years ago in the winter of 2018. Set in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands in WWII, The Faith of […]
Huxley and Orwell
As a young man, I failed to read two important books that continue to be revered as classics, 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Both describe a dystopian society of the future. Huxley wrote his masterpiece in 1931; Orwell wrote his in 1949, the year I was born. In his […]
Committed to Serving Others
University of South Florida (USF) soccer player Malani Lee gives us faith, hope and confidence in the future of the world community we exist in. Amid the tsunami of negative news that assaults us daily, young people like Malani stand up to be counted to let us know the world can be a better place.
Where Have the Cowboys Gone?
I grew up in the ‘50s playing outside. There were a few rainy weekends, which gave us the excuse to attend the Saturday matinee. My morning poem perfectly captures the utopia of those halcyon days in the Berkshires…