Think of it like asking a friend’s opinion on your chosen outfit for an occasion.

Abortion and contraception are not new. They are not a product of modernity or rising secularism or a reflection of the downfall of the traditional family.

I suppose that’s the moment that really counts, not my intentions in all the years leading up to it.

If at fault for being too much the Marlboro Man culture out here, we at least have the practical factor to thank for the fact that there still exists a strong sense of community.

The tough work of buoying the spirit of this great country is everyone’s job, and it helps to remind each other of that fact from time to time.

…regardless of the choices I’ve made in life, there’s always been that give and take thing going on. You sacrifice one thing to gain something else

I was scared off early on by a relative who was most definitely a hoarder, though we didn’t really use that word when I was growing up.

… the blood moon has held significant meaning for people for thousands of years—most quite odious.

All the freedoms outlined in the First Amendment go hand in hand, and work together for our protection from would-be authoritarians..

Wild with rage and terror, the bull charged down the line; workers scattered like confetti blown out of a shotgun.

…I had ingested enough DIY details to make my own space station from wood pallets.

Are history teachers not supposed teach about the Trail of Tears, the Civil War, and the civil rights movement?

…when you laughed with her that time, over that one thing, til both of you were crying and trying not to pee—just before she got the diagnosis.

…put 300 people together who are expected to politely ignore their differences out of deference for the happy couple, and you’re likely to witness some real interesting herd behavior

Because we fit here better than anywhere else, forever marked by the history of a land that lives within our bones.

If had I known then what lay ahead for us, I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy a single, magical moment, that didn’t always seem that magical, in the moment, but now is so easily recognizable.

…over the years, there have been may times when I’ve opened my mouth and, much to the confusion and bafflement of my kids, my Grandmother came out.

Put your fears aside, just for a time; feel the sharpness of frosted air, the brittle scent of what’s real, right where you are now.

Ours is a world reduced to valuing only that to which a number can be attached, yet this perception of life as a series of calculations leaves out everything that we cannot quantify.

Honestly, one must practically carry a translation guide to crack the code of common text messages sent by anyone under the age 35, what with all the LOL’s and BTW’s and NRN’s.