Musings

The predawn sky had just a hint of gray in preparation for sunrise as we left the hotel in Vicksburg headed to Oklahoma for a wedding. Overnight rain left the air clean and fresh-smelling even though the humidity was heavy as a steam room in the gym. It looked like we...

I don’t like your writing because you are a dumbass. Thanks, I DON’T CARE IF YOU USE MY NAME DEAR I-DON’T-CARE: Let’s go back in time. Now, of course, I don’t know your personal story, but let’s be theoretical here. Pretend your mother and father just met two minutes ago. The circumstances that...

By Kirk McCarley What frustrates you? Where are my keys? Your order is out of stock. I missed my flight. We’ve selected someone else for the job. Finding inspiration for a written piece often frustrates me.  It did songwriter Robert Lamm too. Lamm was maddingly annoyed.  It was the wee hours of the...

By Shelby Lynne Today for the first time in a long time I looked into the mirror and I recognized the reflection. I walked out the door without second guessing myself. I had a stride in my walk that screamed confidence within me. It was the strangest feeling. It’s been so long since I...

By Lauren Catanese “The mind is like a monkey.” Said the monk who was teaching me to meditate. I was in a temple in Penom Phen, Cambodia. I knew exactly what the monk meant. My mind was raving from, “ Am I doing this right, how will I know, is...

By Sean Dietrich Colatta is her name. She and I are in the elevator together. She is pushing a large cart of cleaning supplies and mini shampoos. Colatta is short, cheery. She’s wearing scrubs. She is pure Alabama. She has an accent that won’t quit, and wears a War Eagle...

By Shelby Lynne Today for the first time in a long time I looked into the mirror and I recognized the reflection. I walked out the door without second guessing myself. I had a stride in my walk that screamed confidence within me. It was the strangest feeling. It’s been so long since I...

By Kirk McCarley Leadership. Endless literature exists about the subject.  What characteristics constitute the makeup of those who direct others? While we may each be leaders or managers in some capacity, the fact is all of us function in some role of support: to those who may have elected or appointed us, to a...

By Rick Moore The Lone Ranger, Phantom of the Opera, and Batman all have something in common: They wear a mask. A mask usually hides the identity of a person. Each year on October 31st, children of all ages dress up for the purpose of pretending to be someone they...

By Rev. Pete Hyde After Dad retired in 1970 to Rogers, Arkansas, our family began attending Central United Methodist Church in Rogers after many years of being unchurched. Central was and still is an old downtown church that is now on the Historic Register. Stained glass windows surround the curved wooden...