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I remember those grandstands at those late afternoon Freshman football games–virtually empty! On a Tuesday afternoon during the Fall football season in 1970, the Colby, Kansas, Freshman Eaglets took the football on their own 20 and marched 80 yards to score the first touchdown against the Oberlin Red Devils Freshman squad. For 10 straight playsContinueContinue reading “Take Your Pain on the Front End”

Matt & Kari Bollant on their 29th wedding anniversary in August. When I lived in Champaign-Urbana for 43 years I attended lots of Illini sporting events, but I never was close with any of the head coaches. That is, until 2012, when I became friends with Coach Matt Bollant, who came from the University ofContinueContinue reading “We Are all part of a countless network of relationships”

July 23, 2023 Hi friends, Ethan Benefield, the 15-year-old son of my good friends–Kyle & Ellen Benefield–is reading my memoir. MY MEMOIR IS OUT and I’m excited to have you read it and comment. I guarantee that reading my Leaving The Land of Numb will make you consider your own story and ponder these importantContinueContinue reading “Summer time is marching on…”

(This is the fourth essay I have posted that did not make my memoir: Leaving The Land of Numb–A Journey to connect My Emotional and Spiritual Lives. This essay has a powerful story my Grandma Follis told me about what happened right after my Dad returned home from the Korean War. My Memoir releases fromContinueContinue reading “So often Dad Had No Words”

(This is yet another essay that did not make my memoir: LEAVING THE LAND of NUMB: A JOURNEY TO CONNECT MY EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL LIVES. The memoir will be available on Amazon in July. WATCH FOR DETAILS!) In September 1975 I met a guy in college named Larry who latched onto me. We both neededContinueContinue reading “Remembering a College Friend From the Desert”

(This piece is another one of several essays that did not make my memoir: Leaving The Land of Numb—A Journey To Connect My Emotional And Spiritual Lives. I thought it would fit, but I just couldn’t weave it into the book’s theme. The memoir will be released by Amazon in Mid-July. Watch for Details!) AContinueContinue reading “Staring Into the Crystal Blue Sky”

(This is one of several essays that did not make my memoir that I have just completed. It just didn’t flow with the arc of the story. Later this summer my memoir will be available. More about that soon. It is called Leaving the Land of Numb–A Journey To Connect My Emotional and Spiritual Lives.ContinueContinue reading “A little Father/Son Loving on a June afternoon”

Spring semester 1975 is etched in my mind because I got schooled by a girl who was my study partner. We took a college religion class called The Life of Christ. It required a lot of reading, most of which I liked. Fortunately, the textbook for the class was written by a brilliant scholar whoContinueContinue reading “Reading the Bible and the Newspaper and Feeling the Tension”