In the winter of 52 BCE, as Caesar pressed his campaign to crush the Gallic coalition, the Roman legions found themselves facing disaster near the town of Alesia—the stronghold of the chieftain Vercingetorix1. Two armies boxed Rome in Inside the city walls: Vercingetorix and his starving defenders Outside the walls: a massive Gallic relief force … Continue reading De Flexibilitate: The Legend of Severus Arellius Gumbus
Category: Personal Reflection
Boats Against the Current
“There is nothing new under the sun.” These opening words of Ecclesiastes (1:1–11) are not a lament, but a reminder. The crises, uncertainties, and upheavals we experience are echoes of challenges that have come before. Generations rise and fall, societies face turbulence, and yet human life — with its work, care, and attention — endures. … Continue reading Boats Against the Current
My First Published “Article”
Years ago, at the ripe old age of 15, one of the greatest magazines of the era published my astute observation on how to deal with one of the "bad guys" of the 20th century: Why don't we just send Saddam Hussein a skateboard and a halfpipe and let him kill himself? Source: https://www.thrashermagazine.com/imagesV2/Burnout/2013/Magazine_1991/May_1991/TH0591May1991p6-7_800t.jpg
Better a Has-Been than a Never-Was
Image generated by ChatGPT The Bumper Sticker That Started It A quip I posted a while back popped up on a social media feed as a memory today, alongside a picture I’d had AI generate of a “has-been” and a “never-was.” The post referenced a minivan I’d pulled up behind at lunch, with a bumper … Continue reading Better a Has-Been than a Never-Was
Facebook doesn’t care about your community: why local newspapers still matter
If you live in a small town like I do, you probably know exactly when the weekly paper arrives. In my case it comes once a week in the mail: the Northwest Alabamian. By the time it arrives, much of the information in it is technically “old news.” The same stories have often already appeared in … Continue reading Facebook doesn’t care about your community: why local newspapers still matter
Requiescat in pace Jantzen Murrell Frazier
Yesterday, one of my 1st cousins, Jantzen Murrell Frazier, a US Army veteran who had survived two tours in Iraq, was killed while responding to a fire. He is survived by his wife, Leslie and four children, and his parents, Murrell and Debbie Frazier, and two grandmothers. Courtesy of WAAY TV, Huntsville, AL WAFF-TV: News, … Continue reading Requiescat in pace Jantzen Murrell Frazier
Columbus might not have been a pirate, but..
Thinking about International Talk Like a Pirate Day reminded me of seeing the Niña and Pinta when they came through my area a couple years ago. They are faithful replicas of Columbus's originals. Below is a video of the ships when they visited Dubuque, Iowa:The diminutive stature of these two ships destroyed my perception of Columbus' crossing … Continue reading Columbus might not have been a pirate, but..
