ONE YEAR LATER.

• January 29, 2008
• | Family

It was one year ago today that we were given the news that our little girl was gone, taken by the Lord much earlier than we could have ever wanted.

A lot has changed over the past year.

But one thing will never change. Ever. The fact that I miss her.

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IN MEMORY OF KATE ELIZABETH.

• February 07, 2007
• | Family

Today we laid our daughter to rest next to her great-great grandparents.

It is the Lord's will that she was taken from us so soon, but we know that she is in a better place.

Goodbye my sweet, Kate. I look forward to the day when I can hold you in my arms.

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THANKS.

• November 24, 2004

Thanks to my wife for standing by my side, and putting up with me.

Thanks to my boys for making me proud of them.

Thanks to my friends for helping us move to our new house.

Thanks to our realtor for putting up with the long search for a new home.

Thanks to my parents for always helping out in a pinch.

Thanks to my in-laws for coming to visit and watch the boys.

Thanks to my clients, who have made this my second-best year ever.

Thanks to the troops, who put themselves in harm's way and give their lives for the cause of freedom.

Thanks to people who disagree with me, because they make me think.

Thanks to the unknown woman in Iowa, who's kidney saved my father-in-law's life.

Thanks to the Lord, because miracles do happen.

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DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER LAUGHTER?

• November 22, 2004
• | Thoughts

Over the past few months, I've felt a little disturbed at the direction our culture is headed. Things have grown too vitriolic and downright hateful. People can't seem to express their opinions without getting shouted down by someone else. People want to fight at the drop of a hat.

We have become a hotly divided society for, in my mind, two reasons:

1. We take the wrong things too seriously.
2. We don't respect one another.

In just the last six months, we've seen several incidents involving fans and players at sporting events, most notably the Pacers/Pistons game last Friday. While alcohol has as much as anything to do with what happened, I cannot understand the rationale of being so upset over a game that I am watching that I feel the need to throw something. It is simply unbelievable.

I go to Opening Day in Cincinnati with a group of friends every year. It is the only sporting event I attend anymore, because the atmosphere at games is just too volatile. I don't appreciate the senseless cursing and the idea that the modern spectator can do and say as they please because they bought a ticket. Sports will be the downfall of American society as we know it if this continues.

Maybe people just don't have enough responsibility in their lives these days. I have a family to take care of and provide for. That in itself is a full-time job. I can't be concerned with the fact that my favorite teams, the Browns, the Reds and the Buckeyes had down years. Am I happy that Ohio State beat Michigan? Of course I am, but I'm not running out celebrating because of it. I've got things to do, like make sure my oldest son can ride his bike and the twins aren't fighting with each other.

If people would focus on the things that are important, such as family, I think that our society would be much kinder.

But we're never going to get to that point if we don't learn to respect each other. Too many people think that Freedom of Speech means they can say and do as they please without repercussion.

That's simply not what the Constitution is meant to uphold. People are supposed to respect each other. It used to be that way when I was growing up. Kids respected the authority of adults. The nation respected the President. People were allowed to express their opinion without someone berating them because of how they arrived at their opinion. We used to respect each other. I see that going away, and it's most evident in the fallout of the election. You have the left pointing the finger and saying that the Religious Right has hijacked the Republican Party. Then there is the Religious Right pointing at the left and saying they are all sinners because they do not hold the same faith and convictions as the President. It's all bunk. I have no problem with saying that I voted for President Bush, but I have a problem with being rolled into the same category as Jerry Falwell and Bob Jones.

I don't know exactly why things are the way they are now, but I think that society is moving backwards. Once, we strove to be one society, desegregated in a fashion that allowed everyone to have the potential for enjoying the fullness of the freedoms allowed under the Constitution. Now, we are falling back into segregated groups, categorized by labels such as liberal, progressive, religous right and 'the other half of the country.'

I have three boys, and they will be raised to be respectful of authority and others. They will learn to listen to others, not to be selfish, to know what is right and what is wrong. But maybe, most importantly of all, they will learn to focus on the things that are truly important in life.

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FOUR MORE YEARS!

• November 03, 2004

Finally. It's over.

Kudos to John Kerry for being a stand-up guy by conceding the election and avoiding a repeat of the 2000 election.

Kudos to the American people for re-electing the man who brought us lower taxes, restored dignity to the office of President and will keep our nation strong and safe.

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