History
« Previous EntriesThe Healing Power of Laughter
Monday, March 8th, 2010Bill Mauldin, the iconic World War II cartoonist, is being honored with a U.S. postage stamp. I think that’s great news. So does CNN contributor Bob Greene. You can read about the stamp and Greene’s tribute to Mauldin here.
Mauldin shares the stamp with his two best-known creations, Willie and Joe. Mauldin used the bearded, bag-eyed infantrymen […]
The Greatest Generation
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Tom Brokaw’s 1998 best-seller, The Greatest Generation, looked back to the generation of Americans who came through World War II victoriously. The past few weeks I’ve been reading E.B. Sledge’s With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa (1980, Presidio Press), a first-person narrative of two WWII […]
‘ABC,’ Kung Fu, Charlie’s Angels and The Tonight Show
Friday, June 26th, 2009Obits hit the headlines constantly, some making a bigger splash than others. But the recent loss of David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson feel linked, and their combined weight transcends whatever individual ripples they create in the international media pool.
It’s almost as if 1970s television has died too. Jackson’s shrill rendition of […]
The Few
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009In the weeks leading up to Memorial Day, I’ve been reading The Few by Alex Kershaw. Kershaw charts the Battle of Britain, the epic air war between Britain and Germany during World War II, from a perspective I had never before considered — that of the American pilots who joined the cause and flew for […]
Coins
Friday, April 17th, 2009Austin went with his second-grade class to a Springfield Cardinals game this week, and the kids each picked up this season’s commemorative team coin. Austin’s been toting his around the house in its protective plastic sleeve, occasionally taking it out and buffing it with a “microfiber” cloth his sister gave him, an extra one of […]
Tales From the Judges’ Crypt
Thursday, February 26th, 2009In the early 1950s, few comic books offered more thrills than Tales From the Crypt. The series’ horror stories eventually came under attack from parents, clergy, schoolteachers and others concerned for children’s spiritual and emotional welfare. Congressional subcommittee hearings in 1954 led to the establishment of a national Comics Code. The original Crypt issues are […]
‘That Printer of Udell’s’
Monday, February 9th, 2009Branson, Mo., is a 45-minute drive south of Springfield, where I live. One of the biggest attractions in that Midwest entertainment Mecca is an outdoor performance of The Shepherd of the Hills, a play dramatizing the 1907 novel of the same name by Harold Bell Wright. (I’ve never seen the play, but that’s no mark […]
Aluminum Foil Faith
Friday, January 23rd, 2009My daughter wrapped my PB&J in aluminum foil when she made my lunch this week. I unwrapped the sandwich and looked at that unassuming sheet of metal. I used to play with the stuff as a kid, molding it to my face to make a super hero mask. In junior high, some friends and I […]
A Great Resolution
Thursday, January 8th, 2009Every year at New Year’s I renew my commitment to personal Bible study. Over the years, I’ve been successful a few times with the “through the Bible in a year” method. Most others, I take a thematic approach and read sections of Scripture. I’m blessed to know family and friends whose commitment to Bible study […]
Don’t Worry About What You Can’t See
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008Listening to NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday, I heard an interview with Willie O’Ree, the first black player in the National Hockey League. O’Ree entered the NHL as a winger for the Boston Bruins in January 1958. He is now director of youth development for the NHL’s diversity program and a respected elder statesman in the […]
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