Pat Conroy died last night. As his wife, novelist Cassandra King Conroy, said, “The water is wide and he has now passed over.” It’s a common question writers get. Who were your main influences? I know that I’m a writer today primarily because of Pat Conroy. Growing up in South Carolina, I had an inferiority […]
South Dakota Governor flies high in protecting transgender kids
As a gay man, I’d never understood transgender people. In fact, until recently, I never even bothered to try. I didn’t know anyone who was “that way” and just thought that a guy that wanted to be a girl was just taking the stereotypical gay effeminate nature to an extreme. But after watching Caitlyn Jenner’s […]
Peanut Butter Crackers and Childhood Memories of Myrtle Beach
Every summer when I was a kid, we’d go to Myrtle Beach for a week. It was a four hour drive from where I grew up in Upstate South Carolina so there would be a couple stops along the way. Dad would give us a couple bucks, and my brother and I would go into […]
Turning the other cheek and foregiveness
My husband and I were robbed on Saturday. It wasn’t our personal home, but one of our rental houses in Palm Springs. This was the second robbery at that property in a month. The first time they stole three brand new TVs. This time they took two of three TVs we had just purchased to […]
Donald Trump and Ted Cruz need new friends
My Momma always told me, “You’re known by the company you keep.” I’m not sure the origin of this phrase, but the sentiment comes from Proverbs 13:20. “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the one who walks with fools will be destroyed.” Last night, Ted Cruz won the 2016 Iowa caucus […]
5 Favorite Southern Expressions
I’m in South Carolina this week visiting my family, and I’m reminded how much I miss the Southern language. Beyond the accent, us Southerners have our own language. Some of my favorites. He’s as country as a turnip. Said by the sales rep for the local gas company about one of the workers. It means […]
Sarah Palin, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz Hate Apologies
A week ago, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) captured ten U.S. sailors whose boats reportedly drifted into Iranian territorial waters. The sailors were kept overnight and released in the morning. The IRGC released a statement: “Following technical and operational investigations and in interaction with relevant political and national security bodies of the country and after […]
Six Reasons Inclusive Restrooms Benefit All
My husband and I were returning from a relaxing weekend in Santa Barbara wine country, and we stopped at a gas station. I bought a quick pick for PowerBall and MegaMillions and took a key that was attached to a broom (ok, half a broom stick) to the side of the convenience store to use […]
It’s Time to Take Back Christianity
Since the 1980s, self-described “Christians” decided that they needed to impose a socially conservative agenda on the rest of society in complete rejection of the First Amendment’s insistence on separate of church and state. These “Christians” have also substituted the teachings of Jesus for the writings of Adam Smith. But it doesn’t need to be like […]
How can a comic book character save lives?
All New X-Men: 40 has a surprise for comic book readers. One of the major characters, Iceman, is outed by the mind-reading Jean Grey. I went to the Twitter page of Brian Michael Bendis, the writer of the comic, expecting to see hate-filled rants, but I was pleasantly surprised. Most of the posts were from […]