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A Time for Choosing, Again

Steeling Our Patriotic Reserve on America’s 250th As we mark the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, Ronald Reagan’s words from more than six decades ago echo with fresh urgency: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States when men were free.” This wasn’t mere rhetoric from…

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Appropriate Forum

Restoring Balance Between Adult Freedom and Childhood Innocence I am the son of a gay father. I loved him deeply, and I carry the ache of a moment when, at thirteen, my blunt and clumsy words wounded him in a way that time never fully healed. For years I regretted not bridging that gap while he was still here. As a father myself now, I find those old regrets mixing with new fears: not that my children will reject someone for who they are, but that they will be denied the protected childhood my parents tried to give me. This is…

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Coaching Series: Lou Holtz

Lou Holtz: The Coach Who Built Champions for Life Today, March 4, 2026, the college football world lost one of its greatest teachers. Lou Holtz, the legendary coach who led Notre Dame to the 1988 national championship and inspired generations with his no-nonsense wisdom, passed away at age 89 in Orlando, Florida. Notre Dame Football captured the moment perfectly in their tribute: “Remembering the life and legacy of Lou Holtz.” If you haven’t watched the video yet, pause and take it in. It’s a powerful reminder of the man who didn’t just win games; he changed lives. Remembering the life and…

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This is Twenty

Twenty Years Strong – Like a Rock Twenty years now. Where'd they go? Twenty years. I don't know. I sit and wonder sometimes Where they've gone. Bob Seger nailed it with those lines-time slips away faster than you can track it. But on this, our 20th anniversary, those words don't just echo lost youth. They point to something built, something that lasts. Think about a rock. A real one. It doesn't just sit pretty. It endures. Storms hammer it, winds howl, rains soak through every crack. Freezing cold tries to split it wide open. Blazing sun bakes it day after relentless…

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Coaching Series: Hank Stram

Coaching Series: Hank Stram – The Innovator in the Red Vest Hank Stram wasn’t just a coach; he was a showman, a strategist, and a football visionary who turned the Kansas City Chiefs into a powerhouse and changed the game forever. If you’ve ever watched a sideline prowling with a coach in a sharp blazer, barking plays through a headset, or seen a team stack the line with a “Stack Defense,” you’ve brushed up against Stram’s legacy. He wasn’t the loudest name in football history, but he was one of the most influential-a man who brought flair, brains, and a Super…

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Coaching Series: Lou Saban

Lou Saban: The Unyielding Fire of a Genuine Soul Among football coaches, where legends like Vince Lombardi preached like prophets and Bill Belichick schemed like sorcerers, Lou Saban stands apart-not as the loudest voice or the most decorated, but as the most human. He was the nomad who wandered 21 coaching stops across five decades, from AFL champions in Buffalo to Division III rebuilds in North Carolina at age 80. His win-loss record? Respectable but not regal: 191 victories against 200 defeats and 11 ties. Yet, ask anyone who played for him, and they'll tell you Saban wasn't measured in stats.…

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Coaching Series: Norm Van Brocklin

The Dutchman: A Volatile Flame That Lit Football's Soul In the pantheon of football legends, few burn as brightly-or as erratically-as Norm Van Brocklin. "The Dutchman," born Norman Mack Van Brocklin in 1926 to Dutch immigrant parents in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, wasn't just a quarterback who etched his name in the NFL record books with a still-legendary 554-yard performance against the New York Yanks on September 28, 1951. He was a force of nature: a chain-smoking philosopher-coach whose gravelly wisdom and hair-trigger temper shaped a generation. Volatile? He'd explode at officials like a misfired shotgun, once fined $500 for chasing…

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Do What the Game Asks You to Do

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. - Psalm 34:18 Do What the Game Asks: A Sober Journey Through Bipolar II On November 1, 2023, my son and I stood before the TV, hearts racing as the Texas Rangers clinched their first World Series. Tears flowed as we shouted, “That’s for you, Mom/Nana!” Her memory flooded back-October 2011, her hospital room, watching the Rangers lose Game 6 to the Cardinals. Despite post-surgery pain, she quoted Ron Washington: “Do what the game of baseball asks you to do.” Her love for the Rangers carried…

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A Father’s Day Story

A Father’s Day Story The Old Soul of Gen X Fatherhood This Father’s Day, I sink into my recliner in our suburban living room, my well-worn coffee mug warm in my hands, steam rising as sunlight filters through the blinds. A Gen X father, raised by a single mom, I carry a time-worn spirit from elders-Granny, aunts, uncles, kin born when the 19th century faded, their lives weathered by wars and want. Over kitchen tables, with fresh-baked cinnamon rolls, they shared stories of grit and grace, giving me memories older than my 1970s corner house and cul-de-sac childhood. I write for…

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Five O’clock Friday

It's Five O'clock Somewhere Five o'clock on Fridays once marked a joyful leap from work to weekend, filled with happy hours and anticipation. Today’s 24x7 work culture has dimmed this ritual. Constant connectivity, blurred work-life boundaries, and burnout have replaced celebration with exhaustion. Remote work erases social cues, while weekend tasks encroach on freedom, making Fridays feel ordinary. Generational shifts add complexity-younger workers, used to fluid schedules, may not feel the loss as keenly. This analysis explores how lost rituals, always-on expectations, and redefined fun have reshaped Fridays, using data to highlight a cultural shift that calls for renewed work-life balance.…

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