“Everyone wants to save the Earth; nobody wants to help Mom do the dishes.” P.J. O’Rourke Every so often, while preparing for what I hope will be a well-received lesson at church— perhaps a lesson about humility, patience, presence, or grace— something happens. In deep concentration, I’m briefly diverted by a call from someone with… More

“Mercy.” Gertie Warren Funderburk One of my lasting memories of my grandmother, Gertie Warren Funderburk, was how she’d respond when I’d done something original— like sink a fish hook in my finger, or carry a bushel of pecans from the yard into her house in my stretched-out t-shirt. She’d trill out a deep breath in… More

Of course, none of this is likely, but it’s also not impossible.It just depends on what you want to consider. David Foster Wallace I had a couple of friends back in college who got a kick out of telling semi-credible tall tales about each other to unsuspecting acquaintances at parties. For instance, in conversation, one… More

There are definitely two camps on this. Some parents like to know the gender of their baby beforehand, some don’t. My wife, Kelly and I liked the idea of finding out right at the moment of birth. That was the plan at least, but about half-way through her first pregnancy, at one of the sonograms,… More

My father was born in 1925, a child of the depression. He served in the Navy in World War II, and like many in his generation, he was long on matters related to discipline and short on matters related to spontaneous fun. Then there was my uncle— almost 14 yrs younger than my dad. When… More

Twenty years ago, I underwent surgery on my sinuses and the day after the operation, the surgeon called to ask how I was doing. I told him my nose and breathing were just fine, but my left eye was killing me. His reply was that this made sense because, unfortunately during the surgery, he had… More

My uncle and law partner and I were trying a case together in Bay City, Texas. In Matagorda County. Larry was the lead lawyer and I was there in a ‘second chair,’ supportive role. We represented a company which had fired one of its employees who’d failed a drug test. The man’s position was that… More