Kansas 1886 Jason Cahill sat in front of his stone fireplace on a bitter cold January night, a medical book in his hands. But every few minutes he would glance up at the clock on the mantel. A minute later he looked sideways at the front door. “What is taking so long?” he murmured. At almost the same time he had spoken these words, there was a loud rap on the door. Jason stood up quickly and unlocked it. Outside, a full moon at their backs, two tall men in ankle-length coats and Stetsons waited. Between them they carried something long and heavy, concealed in a canvas bag. ...continued...

Being only about five years old at the time, I don't have alot of memories of the times before TVs came into my life, although I find myself more and more in the minority in that I can remember the preTV days at all. I forget myself sometimes and don't feel my age, but the young bloods jolt me back to reality with comments such as "What was it like before you had shows to entertain you like the gold digger shows or Pawn Stars?" Quips like this make me realize we weren't really missing all that much.Or could it be I was only five at the time and just ...continued...

As a child, I lived in a poor neighborhood but I always wanted to help others even when I was unable to help myself. I grew up with an innate desire to one day to be able to help others to be all they could be in society. In the course of my teen years I made some mistakes that later I counts as blessings. I became a teenage mother who dropped out of school and married. My marriage was not successful so I got a divorce. I wind up working in textiles to support my children. One thing remained constant over the course of my life was the fact I never lost the desire to help others. To fast for ...continued...

This is taken from my first devotional book, Daily Walk with Jesus available on Amazon.com. Jesus’ Return Galatians 1:4 “Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father.” As the day of Jesus’ appearing in the sky draws nearer, we see a more definable difference in those who truly have Jesus as their Lord, and those who don’t. For those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus, there is special protection in this scripture even in calamity and a promise of delive ...continued...

[These series of articles were written in 2005 and some appeared in the Kansas City Star] What was the best “con” of the twentieth century? My vote goes to the worldwide diamond trade. Debeers and friends, who consolidated the markets in the late nineteenth century, secured a monopoly of truly remarkable proportions. Who in the world today doesn’t know that a diamond is forever and is also a girl’s best friend? The “grass” trade in the United States may not be in the same league as the diamond monopoly, nor did it deliberately start out in it ...continued...

Recently I spent the day with one of my granddaughters. She’ll be a senior in high school next year. We spoke of many things, but one stands out in my memory. She told me of accompanying a friend to a Planned Parenthood facility. Her friend’s mother instructed her to go there to get a pregnancy test. I’ll let you hear the conversation we had. “Mandy’s * mother was out of town so Mandy asked me to go with her.” “Why didn’t she get a pregnancy test at the drugstore?” My granddaughter shrugged. “Her mom wanted her to make sure t ...continued...

My dog, Shadow, knows it is me coming home when I am still a few blocks away. He’s got that pet ESP. Or maybe he recognizes the sound of my car. Regardless, when I walk in the door he’s in the backyard wagging his tail, whining in anticipation of an ear scratching and a pat on the head. When I open the sliding glass door he begins to do a little dance. This black Chow-Labrador mix 40-plus pound dog is just giddy at the sight of me. I am not sure why that is. I realize dogs are loyal. But even if I ignore him for a bit, usually because I&rsqu ...continued...

When he was in his early eighties, my father taught me about the possible depths of his love. I knew my parents had a fine relationship but I never realized how much my father adored my mother. There was little hint of his admiration and passion in their visible every day relationship. Only after my mother sank into Alzheimer’s did my grief-worn father reveal his immeasurable love. Oh he didn’t talk about his feelings: he was, after all, a WWII veteran and a man raised to stoically endure for the sake of his family. But he showed me his devotion every day. Lesson I: “Is ...continued...

More Love Stories - http://tinyurl.com/j5mbhlu My neighbor mows my yard every week even though i have asked him to stop many times. He also appeared yesterday with a chain saw and was going to cut down my big maple tree in the front yard. I have a plan but i can't tell you what it is just yet. 7/1/2014 I started this story sometime ago and thought I best add a bit more information because of continued request from readers so here is my next thought. My neighbor, the same one I mentioned earlier, decided if he was to continue mowing my yard, t ...continued...

Today we woke up to more of the same. A howling wind and violently flapping tent walls. We discovered that the wind, which is from the north, is rapidly pushing us back to our start location from yesterday. We call it a hamster wheel when the ice beneath our feet moves as quickly south as we move north. Since we are tent bound I have felt a survival mode kick in with both of us. I found myself hoarding the last of my Pop-Tarts as I secretly tried to eat them inside my sleeping bag, denying their very existence when questioned by Mike over the noisy wrappers giving me up. From the crunching ...continued...

Ariana felt the warm sand sliding between her toes, heard the distant crash of the water smashing on promontory rocks. Not for her the water's edge. The vastness of the ocean was a strange and fearful thing, and creatures lurked beneath it; she'd heard the sailors' tales when she worked the tavern houses and inns, and did not wish to find herself bewitched beneath the waves. And yet, her eyes kept straying there. So beautiful and savage was the sea. Swirling and surging now with a contained rage, blue and green and gray by turns, and powerful, flecked with the gold of a high mor ...continued...

I attended the International Coffee Hour hosted by the Inclusive Excellence Center on campus this past Thursday 3/30. This International Coffee Hour featured food and coffee drinks from Colombia including Colombian coffee, Enyucado (a cake type of dessert), and Afajor (dulce de leche flavored cookies). A group called AIESEC was presenting on their work around the world. AIESEC is a group that provides students with opportunities to travel abroad and work in volunteer or internship type jobs while living with a family or another group of students. These students help bet ...continued...

Cultural competence is more than an understanding of different cultural groups. Post a reflection of the non-ethnic group prompt provided in the D2L Checklist. The reflection will focus on your broad definition of culture competence. Cultural competence is also vital to understanding effective interaction with people who have disabilities and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender or transexual. My definition of cultural competence has broadened throughout this class and especially after this module 6 unit. I did not expect to include these populations of people ...continued...

North Pole ...continued...

WHAT WOULD MARTIN THINK? Martin Luther King Day Northern Iraq 2004 Attending a celebration service recognizing the birth and accomplishments of Dr. King is not altogether unusual on a day set aside as a holiday in memory of the man and his impact on the future fabric of our nation. What makes this year’s attendance unusual is that I’m in Iraq. I’m deployed to the northern-most airfield in Free Iraq. As a member of a medical unit assigned to Freedom Air Base, ...continued...