Some subjects are just too painful, too controversial, or too recent to make people laugh. Surely Adolph Hitler is near the top of that list. But that didn’t stop actor and director Mel Brooks from satirizing Nazi Germany just 22 years after the collapse of the Third Reich at the end of World War II. In his 1967 movie The… Read more »
Year ago I heard a presentation called “What Not to Say at a Funeral.” In the presence of someone else’s grief and pain, so often we feel compelled to say something – anything – that will help make sense of the mystery of this loss. We want to make the moment easier. But the following statements are almost guaranteed to… Read more »
McDonald’s is amazing. The chain with the golden arches has been presenting itself as the world’s greatest happiness provider for almost 80 years now. The original McDonald’s restaurant – owned by brothers Dick and “Mac” McDonald – opened in San Bernardino, California. The brothers originally sold hot dogs. When they switched to burgers, fries, and shakes (and pieces of pie),… Read more »
On Memorial Day 1933 the world awaited news of the winner of the Indianapolis “500.” Television was, of course, still years away, as was live radio coverage of the race. The results of key sporting events typically went out to the nation’s newspapers via teletype. In the hamlet of Walsenburg, Colorado, the editor of The World-Independent newspaper had taken the… Read more »
Almost 70 years ago, when James Watson and Francis Crick unraveled the mystery of DNA’s double helix, scientists appeared to have wonder on the run. Men and women in white coats were rapidly eliminating the element of mystery from physics and biology. But wonder, far from being on any kind of “endangered sensations” list, is making a comeback. A case… Read more »
Harvey Penick literally wrote the book on golf. Throughout his life, he never aspired to be an author. He simply loved everything that goes with hitting the little white ball. Born in Texas in 1902, Penick began to caddie at the Austin Country Club at the age of eight. By the time he turned 13 he had been elevated to… Read more »
One of the most significant calls to social transformation in American history sprang from a mood of deep frustration. It was also written in a jail cell. Martin Luther King, Jr., a young Baptist pastor from Atlanta, had come to Birmingham, Alabama in April 1963 to help coordinate non-violent marches and sit-ins to protest racism in the city known as… Read more »
A few years ago, as the workplace pastor for a faith-friendly healthcare organization, I visited one of the office work teams. I was holding something in my left hand, which was tightly closed. “So what do you think I’m holding right now? Anybody want to take a guess?” There were lots of guesses. A coin. A marble. An acorn. I… Read more »
We’re not even two weeks into the new year and chronically busy Americans are already becoming anxious. Is there going to be enough time to accomplish what we so recently resolved to make happen in 2022? One of the great human obsessions of the modern age is to make time jump through more hoops – to force time to be… Read more »
Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner. That memorable 1992 commercial slogan – which promoted “beef as a part of a healthy diet” – is still recognized by more than 80% of Americans. If you think that controversies concerning the eating of red meat are only a few decades old, check out the New Testament book of Romans. The apostle Paul’s letter… Read more »