July 21, 2021
In 2010 at Wishard Hospital, Dennis Irvin was diagnosed with stage three throat cancer. He was just beginning his 36-year sentence in a maximum security prison in Carlisle, IN. He was at the high point of his gang activities, which involved running a black market in three different prisons that supplied pretty much anything a prisoner wanted, including every kind of illegal drug. Five doctors entered his room and from the looks on their faces, he knew things didn't look good. The cancer had spread to his lung and from there the discussion turned to pain medication to keep him comfortable as he neared his inevitable death. But Dennis didn't die.
July 7, 2021
South West England is home to a small village named Combe Martin that snakes through a beautiful valley for a mile and a half until it culminates in the sea. The village has been holding a celebration for the past 300 years called "Hunting the Earl of Rone" .Preceded by drummers and dancers, the Combe Martin "Grenadiers" march through the town in their red uniforms to reenact the capture of an Irish Earl who fled Elizabeth 1 in 1607 and was shipwrecked nearby. Every year, the Grenadiers find him, "shoot" him, (to the cheers of the crowd) and throw him into the ocean. (It takes them approximately three hours, literally 17 firing squads, and lots of dancing to accomplish this.) But it never happened. More and more we have to look for evidence to justify the way we think about things,
June 21, 2021
In a world where you can't go to the bathroom without asking permission and are locked up in a 10 x 10' cell at night; in a world where you have to endure a strip search to see your wife on visiting day--that's if you're lucky enough to still have a wife or a visitor of any kind, there is one thing to look forward to: the mail...
June 20, 2021
There are two voices in that head of yours. Humph, you say. Well, there are. There's the voice that wants go to that party and the other voice that says "better not." There's the voice who takes offense at someone's actions, and the other voice that sees it from the other guy's perspective and realizes it's your ego that is really bothering you. Who among us has not experienced the voice of warning in times of danger and of conscience in times of temptation, but has shrugged off the nudges...
May 21, 2021
It seemed like a normal Wednesday morning. People were about town with their heads duly sheathed in little face diapers. As usual, those of us who look for friendly faces were left to wonder about the disposition of the folks they encountered. It is almost impossible to tell if people are scowling or smiling with a mask in place. Then out of the blue came Mayor Joe Hogsett's announcement that Marion County residents can drop the mask as of June 7th! So, now…well not now…but in two and a half weeks, IF the City-County Council approves the Mayor's announcement, we can almost return to normal...
May 7, 2021
When Tyler Perry stood up to accept a humanitarian award at the Oscar ceremony recently, he said words that we all need to hear."I refuse hate," he said. "I refuse to hate someone because they are Mexican, or black, or white, or LBGTQ, or Police Officers, or Asian… I dedicate this award to all those who will stand with me in the middle. "He went on...
April 21, 2021
The noted author and speaker Wayne Dyer used to tell the story about a man who dragged a heavy bag of dung around with him. Once in a while he'd reach in and smear some of it on his face so everyone could see it. Dyer said that man is us. We each have a bag of what has been done to us, and what someone said to us, and how they didn't treat us fairly, and how we didn't deserve it. The bag is heavy. But sometimes others forget about all we've been through. So then we trot out the whole sorry tale...
April 7, 2021
This is one of those great stories where everyone is anonymous, but it all happened here in the last few months and days. It begins with a man who was serving time in prison. We'll call him Paul. When he was released he went to live in faith-based transitional housing. But, the clock was ticking. He had been given a certain amount of time to find a job and save enough money to rent a place to live or go back to prison. For a while it didn't look like he was going to pull it off. But...
March 22, 2021
One of the biggest myths about poverty in the U.S. is that poor people don't want to work. In fact, most American adults living in poverty who can work do work. They are in poverty because they work in low paying, often part-time jobs. Of those in poverty who are not employed, a large percentage are people who are "justice involved", which is a new term for ex-offenders who have been incarcerated.Generally speaking, they are released from prison with little that would allow them to find work...
March 8, 2021
Today in Bible study, the subject was how to have good relationships. The teacher maintained all we have to do, pretty much, is keep the Golden Rule. I'm sure I got that message loud and clear when I was five or so, but who knew my Sunday school teacher was so smart? For those who didn't have a SS teacher, it says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Different Bible versions say it differently, but Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31 both state it with the same meaning. Then I found that this is not a new idea. The first such command dates to an Egyptian 2000 years before Christ and was repeated in many similar forms in writings and religions from all over the world...
