Washington’s farewell address, Lincoln at Gettysburg, Theodore Roosevelt’s speak softly carry a big stick, and finally Dr King’s speech on the steps of the nation. These are uniquely American, pivotal words that wooed a nation. Each of these calls to action, asked America to rise to her greatest potential. While there have been a handful of others, few have impacted our continent as they have. Dr King’s words spoke to freedom, equality, and the march towards a better future. Growing up, I saw all these speeches, not as commentary on where we may or may not be, but what we could achieve together. Free, and equal Americans, working towards improving…

Step in time, it’s the title of a song from Mary Poppins. It’s sung by Dick Van Dyke, playing Bert the Chimney Sweep. It also strikes me, as what today is, for all of us. My son Nicholas step in time, is holding onto things, planning for the day he doesn’t have to hold on any longer. My step in time is to lead him safely forward. This day is the first step in time, of 2020, a new year, and a new decade. What does the future hold? What will be the stories that unfold? Neither of us can answer that question today, we can only make a step…

For some of us December 31, is viewed as the end of the year. For others, like Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Ben Kingsley, it’s the anniversary of their very first day. The 31 is their birthday, and the last day of their year. Many this 12/31 will talk about the newness of tomorrow, and it will be grand. Yet, like our birthday members, today can be our Day One. We don’t have to wait until tomorrow to begin a new way of life. Today, we can walk away from something, either harmful, or not in our best interest. We can start walking towards a better future before the noisemakers, and…

The message of Christmas is timeless, as a man named Bob found out, while looking for the perfect card. Bob had been a greeting card artist and writer for twenty years. He had written everything about every holiday, and had struggled in the summer to write his quota this year. However now it actually was the holidays. You don’t write holiday cards during Thanksgiving and Christmas. The problem was, last year, a publisher friend had convinced him to write a book about his career. It was almost a how to guide for those who wanted a career in the industry. The last three chapters were due the twenty seventh of…