Remember that scene where a discouraged Charlie Brown pleads for someone to tell him what Christmas is all about? “Isn’t there anyone…who knows what Christmas is all about??” he pleads, frustrated. Linus, blanket in tow, steps up and gives one of the most touching renditions of the Christmas Gospel ever. He finishes, walks over to…
(Image: The Guardian) “It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister’s frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin. Betsie,…
As is the case most mornings, we had the morning news on in the background as we got ready for work and daycare. At one point, Lawrence Jones came on the screen with the rest of the Fox & Friends crew. Observing that he looked a little different than Steve, Brian, and Ainsley (i.e. he’s…
There’s a viral video that surfaced recently of a hockey coach having a chat with the team before a game. He tells the players that if they planned to use hockey as a platform to protest our country or Canada (as other sports have done), they could see themselves out. Or rather, as he put…
There’s always been a fascination with royalty. It’s ironic, give that our country literally exists because of a bloody revolution to separate ourselves from monarchical reign, but—despite the fact that I spent copious amounts of my college career studying American history and years blogging about the importance of that freedom we won, my rear end…
Growing up, I used to pour over the Laura Ingalls Wilder books—fascinated by her seemingly endless adventures. The books got pretty dog-eared; Exhibit A: In one of the books, she wrote of a time she and her family—as they were still in the middle of building their log home on the prairie—found themselves surrounded by…
You know that sinking feeling you get when you realize you’re losing an argument? That “oh crap … I’ve either got to spin my way out of this or admit defeat or I’m going to look stupid …” feeling? I had that happen the other day, over Apple iPhone headphones of all things. Long story…
Once a few years back, I was hiking with my family in the Black Hills of South Dakota. When we finally made it to the top, I peered over the sheared off rock edge to catch a glimpse of the drop-off, and felt my center of gravity shift. I quickly moved back as I felt…
I remember once in college I had the opportunity to witness a human dissection. Two, actually; they were happening side by side. My friend—she was pre-med and the reason I got to watch this whole thing—was working on the male cadaver, and was in the process of exploring his left arm. I’ll never forget how…
My daughter’s currently obsessed with the movie “The Boss Baby” (or “Mean Baby” as she puts it). At one point in the film, Tim—the seven year old who’s feeling the squeeze of the baby—is cornered by Boss Baby and informed that unless he gets with the program, “there will be cutbacks.” A distraught Tim goes…
A Future Free 