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Columns

  • Occupying your place in distressed economic world

    Occupy in a Culture of Discontent
    “Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
    Trying to make ends meet
    You're a slave to money then you die”
    --The Verve, “Bittersweet Symphony”

    The first time I saw one of the many people in the Occupy Wall Street movement holding a sign that said, “We are the 99%,” I thought, “That has to include me. I’m certainly not in the 1 percent.”

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  • Regret comes easier than courage

    Critiicized for some occasionally stiff performances and its preachy, obvious message, the movie "Courageous" does something most films never manage. It causes you to think.

    It's sad and funny. It's insightful and challenging. It's playing alongside big budget Hollywood productions although it was produced by members of a Baptist church in Georgia.

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  • Local business interests frustrated by heavy hand of government

    I had the opportunity to hear from businessmen and women Oct. 10 as part of a Small Business Town Hall Meeting in Radcliff. I organized this meeting to bring local business stakeholders together with representatives at the federal and state level. Congressman Brett Guthrie and state Sen. Dennis Parrett joined me at Colvin Community Center to hear feedback and concerns from folks who run businesses here in Hardin County.

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  • Lost in a GOP Game Day nightmare

    While awaiting the Republican presidential candidates’ debate, I fell asleep, sitting there on my couch. I awoke with a jolt, glanced at my watch and realized the debates already had started. Hurriedly turning the channel to CNN, I anticipated the debate, this one broadcast live from Las Vegas.

    Instead I found College Game Day. I flipped the channel back and tried again: still College Game Day. I checked my clicker and tried once more: College Game Day again. In fact, every channel on TV was College Game Day.

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  • Studying the vote totals in search of insight

    Elections teach us about ourselves.

    The local option elections in three communities asked a simple question. In addition to answering yes by 3-to-2 margins in each town, other deeper insight is possible – or at least deeper speculation.

    After the vote, many folks who I encountered remarked with surprise about the margin of victory, particularly in Vine Grove.

    Because Vine Grove’s a smaller community, we often view it as quaint and perhaps parochial in its ways. Consider, however, the nature of this community.

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  • Always a reason for hope, even with cancer

    The words inadvertently found their way on the printed page; they were obviously not meant for anyone to read. Only two words: “No hope.”

    They said so much. Too much.

    They were printed next to the name of a cancer patient for whom we prayed. I flinched when I read them. No one is beyond hope -- not even those who appear to be in the last stages of cancer.

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  • I've met a lot of friendly smokers and a very creative dentist

    Growing up locally, I never could have forseen a day when most any Hardin County retailer would welcome a customer wanting a drink but turn away someone carrying a cigarette.

    Our view of vices has changed.

    The evils of tobacco, which once drove much of the local economy, now have led to smoking bans in most every business and public building.

    I’m convinced that smokers are the friendliest people in the world. You never see non-smokers gathered outside a workplace saying hello to everyone.

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  • Don't wait for something to break

    “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a common refrain when new ideas are generated. Although that may be partially true, why then do we love inventions and strive to build a better mousetrap?

    A colleague of mine recently penned an excellent analogy which follows. It speaks directly to what the unification effort is about – Examining ways we can work and operate better together for everyone’s benefit:

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  • Cheatin' ways tear at fabric of society

    “Your cheatin’ heart will tell on you.”

    So begins the first line of Hank Williams Sr.’s classic hit, “Your Cheatin’ Heart.” And if your own cheatin’ heart won’t tell on you, someone else’s cheatin’ heart will. Or someone will connect the dots that place your cheatin’ heart in the crosshairs. It’s almost certain.

    Almost.

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  • Exchanging loose change for a little time

    In the corners of my brain, I managed to preserve memories of a child's perspective of downtown Elizabethtown.

    There's a sense of wonder associated with visits to J.J. Newberry's which had a collection of ladies' hats by the front door, a massive lunch counter that always seemed crowded and a staircase in the middle of the floor that led to an actual bargain basement.

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