FollowAfter his tour de force as interim host on The Daily Show in 2013, John Oliver moved over to HBO to host his own program, “Last Week Tonight“. There, he takes a more in-depth look at various subjects like Sex Ed, prison sentences, transgender rights, the tobacco industry and nutritional supplements. If you haven’t watched any of those, I …
Tag Archives: Cancer
Really, God?
During a recent sermon, I was reminded of the story of Naaman. It’s about a powerful dude, Naaman (duh), who has a skin disease and visits Elisha to get some healing. Things go a little sideways because, not only does Elisha fail to treat him with the respect he so richly deserves, he tells the guy to go …
My Story Pt III
Today, we come to the third chapter of the saga that is My Story. Monday, I started with the tale of my Leave It To Beaver-ish early years. Wednesday, I laid bare the time I spent as a member of a crazy-ass cult (though exactly a willing one). Today, the story spans a much longer time; almost 30 years …
A Fight You Can’t Win
Many people like to talk about someone’s “brave battle with cancer”, like it’s a war; the implication being that if you’re tough enough, you can kick its ass and expel this nasty stuff from your body once and for all. There’s only one problem with that: it’s bullshit. Cancer is like luggage; you have it until …
A Few Thought About Dying…, And Living
As is the family custom, I went to my mother’s for New Year’s. There was a little work to do around the place, but the real reason I went was for the black-eyed peas and collard greens; another family custom. Actually, it’s an old southern tradition that’s supposed to bring good luck and money throughout …
Shut Up and Be My Friend
In the past couple of days, I’ve started reading a light-hearted little ditty titled Cancer and Theology, a collection of essays by different authors such as Tony Jones, Brian McLaren and Carol Howard Merritt. I’m less than halfway through and, while I like it, there’s a problem: it’s a rather impersonal. I suppose that’s only natural; while …
In the Moment
Most people spend their days never having to confront their mortality, only to come to face to face with it in the twilight of their years. I am not one of those people. From the beginning of my career as a firefighter, each shift carried with it an awareness that I might not go home in …
Living on Borrowed Time
This camper build isn’t going quite like I thought it would, but that seems to be the case with any project I take on. There have been setbacks, like the roofing issue I mentioned last week. I thought I had it taken care of, finding a suitable replacement at a building supply center. When I …
Why Doesn’t God Answer Every Prayer?
I love South Park. It’s irreverent, funny, bawdy and, every now then, you’ll see pretty good social commentary. But, one thing I never expected to find was decent theology. That changed when I watched the episode “Are You There, God? It’s me, Jesus“, which satirizes young adult fiction, puberty, religion, Rod Stewart, God and Jesus. …
God’s Heart Breaks, Too.
This morning, I’ve reached a level of procrastination that is amazing even for me. And, it’s all because I don’t want to write about what I have to write about this morning. My friend, Morgan McLamb, went to hospice over the weekend. I first met Morgan in 2007 when we were both on light duty, me …