A scary night with a chaser coffin — The fire leaped up into the cool night sky that was dark, no moonlight or starlight at all. Several campers sat on logs around the roaring bonfire. A slight breeze blew softly on my neck sending chills down my spine. “I am going to tell you about an event that…

A great generation made us who we are — I recently reread the account of my second cousin’s participation in the December 7th, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. We need to develop the sense of purpose that this generation used to win WW2. Harry K. Smith was the son of my grandmother’s brother. He was killed at Hicham Airfield…

Our first impulse is usually the best one — Most of us have wrestled with making a tough decision. We apply good problem-solving techniques and utilize the proper resources to gather as much pertinent information available. Sometimes, even after a thorough search, usually constrained by a time demand, there often isn’t enough information to satisfy us we are making…

And a tough little Studebaker coupe — When I was 19, one of my favorite haunts were the strip mines in Coal City, IL. There are several old mines that had all the coal removed and are now clear little lakes, fed by spring water. The sides of the lakes are surrounded by huge piles of rocks…

Sometimes we forget how essential fundamentals are — Quite often, the complex things we do are directed at correcting things caused by not doing simple fundamental things well. Both at work and in our daily lives, we need to make sure the fundamental things we assume are in place and working are actually working. We don’t need to…

Big brother spills the beans about Santa — My brother and I had rollicking times starting when I was not yet 2 years old. I used to climb out of my crib by myself the better to explore my surroundings. My mother would find me roaming around and she would yell at my brother because she thought he…

A Woodchopper, Elves and Nords conspire to make a custom box — I came across an old wooden box recently. Tucked inside was this warranty: About Your New Hold /Everything Dresser Box… Congratulations! You are now the proud owner(s) of the Hold/Everything Dresser Box specifically designed for those men who like to extricate the contents of their pockets into something before flinging…

A twelve-year old battles night terrors — I was alone in the house late at night. We had just moved to a rural area. Standing outside, not one other house could be seen. A farm field was to the north, a woods to the west and prairie to the south and east. It was a lonely dark…

My peaceful near-death experience sheds light on how our last moments on earth may, in fact, be comforting — The room was cold, but the sedative the nurse had given me negated the usual uncomfortable feeling of cold rooms. The bed that I was on was hard. Many tubes hung from machines in the operating room. I recognized the heart-lung machine that would be used in my procedure. I…