Don David

Some sobering thoughts as I turn 64 years old and deal with my aging process.

Jayber Crow

I generally do not read fiction. My reading preference has historically been nonfiction. A thought-provoking and well-crafted essay appeals to me like nothing else. Years ago, I discovered the essays of a man named Wendell Berry who wrote agrarian pieces about the importance of sustainable farm practices, treating the land with care and conscience. See …

Anna Nalick

Throughout the centuries, poets have used a variety of ways to describe the brevity of life and our inability to turn back the clock. The biblical poets wrote about how our life is "like the grass that withers," and "a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away," and how "our days …

Carry On

I don't listen to much music these days. There are a few exceptions, but generally, I don’t care for most of what I have heard on the radio in the last 20 years, so what is the point? Yes, I realize musical tastes are very subjective, and that the following perspective will likely offend some …

Relinquished

Last November, my essay, "Relinquished" and accompanying drawing, were published in "Weber - The Contemporary West" (the Weber State University literary journal). This essay is about an antelope hunting trip with one of my sons years ago that has an unexpected twist at the end. This is a print journal but the web version is …

Trying to Breathe

A week ago, Renée pointed to her computer and said, “You should watch this video, but be prepared.” We don’t have a television in our house and neither of us have been desensitized to TV violence for at least three decades. To watch the scene of George Floyd being strangled to death in broad daylight …

Li-Young Lee

Historically, I have feared poetry. I can think of only a couple exceptions. Eventually, I learned the distinction between "accessible" and "inaccessible" poetry. It was the latter that frightened me, making me feel inadequate, thinking I was too dull to get the point or too disconnected from popular culture to understand the punch line. But …

Helen Keller / Anne Sullivan

"The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen, heard, or even touched. They must be felt with the heart."  ~Helen Keller / Anne Sullivan Historians debate if this quote is from Helen Keller or Anne Sullivan, but regardless, here it is. I suspect the student learned it from the teacher, or it was a …

Patriotism is not Black-and-White

I was born in the United States and am a citizen of the USA. I did not choose this, but I am thankful to be here. However, I have important loyalties that are sometimes in conflict with the national priorities that stem from my government. My primary allegiance is not to the United States of …

Neil Young – Thrasher

The lyrical poetry of Thrasher is Neil Young at his best. Thrasher, by Neil Young They were hiding behind hay bales, They were planting in the full moon They had given all they had for something new But the light of day was on them, They could see the thrashers coming And the water shone like …

The Opposite of Faith

"The opposite of faith is not doubt, but fear."  ~Philip Yancey, from Reaching for the Invisible God Philip Yancey (Pen and Ink)

Mice in the Piano

An old parable that bears repeating. I heard it first from Chris Thomas (of Torchbearers International) in Estes Park. Originally published in the London Observer. The Mice Family Imagine a family of mice who lived all their lives in a large piano. To them in their piano-world came the music of the instrument, filling all …

Pascal on Reason

We know the truth not only through our reason but also through our heart. It is through the latter that we know first principles, and reason, which has nothing to do with it, tries in vain to refute them. The skeptics have no other object than that, and they work at it to no purpose. …

Saint Augustine

"But my sin was this, that I looked for pleasure, beauty, and truth not in God, but in myself and His other creatures, and the search led me instead to pain, confusion, and error."  ~St. Augustine, Confessions Saint Augustine (pen and ink)

An Alien World

Certain corners of our world are alien zones to me. Looking out this tinted window suspended a couple hundred feet above the actual terra firma, I scan the horizon for a glimpse of the recognizable world. But I see it not; only concrete, steel, and glass. I look down and see human beings (and the vehicles they …

Wish Fulfillment

There have been certain influential thinkers (Marx, Freud, Huxley, and Sagan to name four) who have implied or explicitly stated that any concept of God is merely a fabrication of “wish fulfillment.” Although this idea is nothing new and is widely circulated, it none-the-less requires some illogical gymnastics. Maybe I am an exception, but if …

Walking in the Dark

(An excerpt from my essay, “On the Personal Acquisition of Meat”)  I had no idea how far I had walked that day in pursuit of the wary antelope herds. When focused on a task, I do not monitor miles or minutes. By now, the sun was approaching the western hills, and it was clearly time …

Story Telling

An excerpt from my essay, "On the Personal Acquisition of Meat" The rustic Maddox cabin reminds me of the original home of Jed Clampett.  The main room has a large table in the middle with a kitchen sink in one corner, a row of chairs on one side, and a wood stove in the other …

Genesis One and the Elasticity of Time

Years ago, I read Albert Einstein’s book, “The General Theory of Relativity.” More recently, I read Gerald Schroeder’s book, “The Science of God.” Quite frankly, Einstein was a little easier to understand than the astrophysicist, Schroeder. However, the latter really caused me to think hard about the concept of time, and how it relates to …

A Skeptical Mystic?

Skeptical:  inclined to question the validity of something purported to be factual. Mystic:  someone who believes in the existence of realities beyond human comprehension. I am among those who are a mystic at heart, and skeptical about many things that western culture presumes to be true.  I am skeptical about some of the following: ◾Statistical …