National Adoption Day is a Celebration of True Joy

Saturday, November 22, 2014 was National Adoption Day which is an event to raise awareness about children without families. In Maricopa County, the county which surrounds Phoenix, Arizona, 311 adoptions were finalized that day. This means that 311 happy children now have permanent families. The day is a happy and joyous occasion. My wife and…

Giving Thanks has its own Rewards

On November 26, 2013, David R. Henson made a post to his blog titled, “An Antidote to Anxiety: A Homily for Thanksgiving.” This post grabbed my attention, so I would like to share part of it with you. “Science has finally caught up with religion on this one. Studies show that spending time counting our…

Reflections from a Grateful Veteran

This past week, my daughter who is a kindergarten teacher, asked me to attend a program at her school that was honoring veterans. I have been a Vietnam veteran for more than 43 year and have never been part of a program where I was honored for my service to our country. I had no…

A Football Star Who Has His Priorities in Order

Carson Palmer is the quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. Several weeks ago during the last minute of a game, Mr. Palmer threw a 75 yard touchdown pass to win it. This made Mr. Palmer an instant superhero to hundreds of thousands of people. The next morning, he could have stayed…

Parental Advice from a Mother Who Lost an Eight Year Old Daughter

The Lansing State Journal recently contained an article written by David Harns which commemorated the six month anniversary of the passing of Lacey Holsworth. She was the eight year old girl with terminal cancer who captured the hearts of basketball fans everywhere because of her smile, positive attitude and a very special relationship with Michigan…

Another Case of Kindness Creating More Kindness

A friend of mine was on a return flight from Zurich, Switzerland riding in the coach section of the plane. He was sitting in the aisle seat of his row and the middle seat beside him was empty. As the flight attendant positioned herself for the safety briefing she attempted to put her props (seat…

An Important Life Lesson from Losing a Son

My son Phil passed away on September 30. This was a tremendous shock as he was only 37 years old. He was a wonderful guy with a quick wit, big heart and a great sense of humor. He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him. I feel very fortunate that the last words…