January 24, 2022
Most people don't shoot someone because they had a fight with their girlfriend, or because someone owes them twenty bucks. People get jealous every day. Lots of folks loan money they'll never get back, but violence never enters their minds. The very thought of shooting someone is crazy, right? But for some people, whose lives have been steeped in turmoil and violence, it is the only response they know. The fact is: There can be no widespread violence without the learned experience of violence.
January 7, 2022
My friend, Jesse, spent 20-plus years in prison. When we became acquainted, he was in the Putnamville Correctional Facility near Greencastle, Indiana. Established in 1914, the prison was known for nearly 70 years as the Indiana State Farm, because the inmates all worked in the prison's extensive farm and dairy operations. By the time Jesse got to Putnamville the farm was gone, and the few available prison jobs like kitchen detail, laundry, and cleaning, were already filled. Being locked up in his cell all day, with nothing to do, finally got to him. Jesse literally begged for a job...
December 21, 2021
Here it is: The last blog post of 2021! It's hard to believe that Covid is still among us and issues we have been facing for years still hang heavy over our heads, but still, I feel a change coming. I believe violence is reaching its zenith, that illness is no longer going to control us, and that a wider, more tangible feeling of good will is coming over our country and our city. I see a trend that serious issues are attracting the attention of the wider community so that many hands can truly equal lighter work and better results. There is a time for everything. I have to believe this is reaping time.
December 7, 2021
What's the best thing you've ever done? I can easily say it was writing Jesse who was an inmate at Putnamville Correctional Facility. He wasn't much more than a sad statistic: Raised in a fatherless home by a drug-addicted mother, he was put into foster care by age 5, and was moved around until he was tossed out of the system at age 18. Without a place to stay, and no money, he crashed in vacant buildings and got in with a tough crowd. Finally he earned himself a home with the Indiana Department of Correction. Jesse grew from a boy to a man during the 20 years he spent in prison...
November 22, 2021
"The victim has been identified as 25-year-old Mo'Nesha McKinley," said the police report. She was found dead on the city's near-east side just after noon one day about a month ago, when police responded to the 1000 block of North Rural Street on reports of a "possible deceased individual." Actually, she had been missing for four days. Where was she for four days? Who committed this terrible crime? With more than 50 percent of homicides remaining unsolved in our city, it is no wonder there are so few answers.
November 11, 2021
Most Christians believe if we are faithful and pray for what we need, we will eventually get it. After all, Matthew 7:7 says, "Ask and it will be given unto you." Like using a vending machine, we have inserted our coins of tithing, faith and commitment, and prayed for that promotion, or that BMW, or rosy health, or that person to love us more, or our child to stop using drugs. How frustrated are we when we fail to hear that "thump-a-dump" noise that signals our answered prayer has fallen into the front of the machine?
October 13, 2021
I remember distinctly the night I heard a radio somewhere in our house playing music that was so innovative and new I had to track down the source. In the next room a small transistor radio was broadcasting the Beatles' American breakthrough hit "I Want To Hold Your Hand" on WLS. I remember thinking that it was going to be a huge hit. (Obviously, a few hundred million other people thought so too.)I was 14. I played in the band, ate dinner every night with my parents and three sisters, went to church, watched Bonanza. Contrast that with the recent arrest of a 14-year-old on multiple felony charges. He was caught as he was running away from gun fire that halted a Ben Davis football game and was arrested for his alleged role in the shooting of a 16-year-old during an attempted carjacking.
October 7, 2021
Back in 1942--the darkest days of World War II, members of the U.S. Congress were holding informal prayer meetings together hoping to stem the tide of American dead and wounded from the European and Pacific fronts. They prayed for victory over Nazi Germany and its allies, and for our men and women who were still in the midst of battle. Fast forward 11 years: Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during the war had been elected President of the United States...
September 21, 2021
The corpse of Gabby Petito lies under a small plastic canopy somewhere in the 300,000 acres of Grand Teton National Park. Her thousands of YouTube and Instagram followers are shocked. One of them commenting, "she's so young and looked so happy!" Oh, yes, the couple did look happy. They posted pictures and videos of themselves in beautiful places, dancing, kissing, and just generally living an amazing life as they traveled together posting constantly to their 126,000 followers. No one knows what went wrong. Who posts pictures of themselves with a swollen face after being hit by their spouse, or videos of taking out the garbage? Nope.
September 7, 2021
Seriously, with the crisis in Afghanistan, the hurricane Ida floods, and shootings in the streets, I have been blown-away by all the bad news. So, I began purposefully looking for a shot of encouragement--something big.Turns out, a man named Eliot Middleton filled the bill. In a small fishing town in South Carolina, the former mechanic decided to start his own restaurant, cooking ribs in a sauce recipe handed down from his great-great-grandmother in 1892. Anyway, a few years ago, this big-hearted guy organized a food drive during tough economic times. As expected, cars lined up around the restaurant to get free food. But after all the food was gone, there was still a line...
