Author: Vince

Family

Unexpected Sounds

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“Hello win column — the Texas Rangers have won the World Series!”

“And the winner for Best Actor or Actress in a Leading Role is… Megan Fox.”

“When asked about the situation, Jerry Jones only reply was, ‘No comment.’”

Unexpected sounds. Words you’re not expecting. Phrases that are out of sync with the present circumstances.

Twenty-three years ago this month, I was working as a consultant at a client site when the phone rang. The voice on the other end said someone named Sharon was on hold for me. This was odd for a couple of reasons — one, she had no idea where I was working, and two, she’d told me several months before she didn’t want to see me, “for a while.” Her voice that afternoon was completely out of the blue, as was her invitation to dinner with some friends.

Justice

Everybody must get …

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I heard a story tonight I’ve heard before. This isn’t the first time this has happened — my grandmother had favorites she told over and over, and we laughed with gusto every time we heard them, because she told them in a way that made them fresh every time. It won’t be the last time it happens — as I get older, I hear myself telling stories I’ve told before and wonder whether I’ve told it to the current audience, and pray I haven’t, because I do not have Mimi’s gift for storytelling. Unfortunately, the yawns usually tell me I have …

This particular story involved two young girls and an evil man (I don’t throw that word around lightly, as you will see).

Bible Study

Nicholas Monikers

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Names are interesting things. We are given them for a lifetime, yet have no say in what they are. That could be a good thing (Brian, Ashley) or a very bad thing (Moon Unit, Apple). We all know people who don’t like their names (any boy named Leslie), people whose parents couldn’t spell (Graclyn), and people whose names we wish we had (Rhianna, Powers Booth).

Names can make for interesting stories. My mother’s name is Blanche, which as you might guess is a relatively unusual name. When she was in high school, a guy trying to “chat her up” (sorry, too many British comedies on PBS) asked her her name.

Music

Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Classic Rock

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Having established my fogie credentials last time, let’s turn our attention to the greatest decade in rock ‘n roll, 1967-1976. These days, I spend most of my radio time listening to KVRK, the local Christian rock station, but when they’re playing something I don’t like, I’ll sometimes wander off to the classic rock station for a bit. Occasionally I’ll think, “that’s a good line, I need to start writing those down.” I’ve been thinking that for probably ten years. Now I finally have. With apologies to Robert Fulgham, here’s classic rock with you all you need to know.

Education

When I think about all the crap I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.

Bible Study

Writing lessons from two Dan’s

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In the early days of the 80’s, Dan Fogelberg released a song titled Same Old Lang Syne. It was a straightforward “story” song, along the lines of Taxi or You’re So Vain. (No, there haven’t been any decent story songs in the last 30 years and yes, I’m an old fogie. Now get off my lawn.)

The song told the story of the singer running into a former flame in the grocery store on Christmas Eve. It is a bittersweet reunion, as they sit in their car and reminisce (they “couldn’t find an open bar”), and think about what was and realize that it is still “was” and will never be “is”.

Movies / Spiritual Journey

Blind-sided

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In Sandra Bullock’s new movie, The Blind Side, her character Leigh Anne Touhy has a scene where she has just fixed up the guest bedroom for Michael Oher, the 17-year old black young man her family has taken in off the street. There is just a hint of a look of self-satisfaction on her face — she’s doing a “good deed.” As Michael looks around the room, slack-jawed, he says, “I never had one before.”

“A bedroom of your own?” Leigh Anne asks, expecting a “yes,” thus confirming her good deed.

“A bed,” Michael replies, and you see in her face that Leigh Anne’s world has just been turned upside down.