Growin' Up Gregory

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I was getting out of English class preparing to head to a CEP event during my freshmen year at Presbyterian College.  That morning had all the makings of an ordinary day until America got punched in the mouth.  I remember the feelings of anxiety and anger upon realizing that the land of the free and the home of the brave was under attack.  Everyone who loved the freedom and opportunity that this nation offers was ready to fight to defend it, and rightfully so.  Countless military and first responders went out risking their own lives to save as many as they could during the aftermath of these horrific attacks.  And it was almost like a patriotic revival in our country. But this has me thinking today, what is worth fighting for?  Many of us would fight over almost anything during our younger days.  But you reach a certain age, or point in life, where fighting is no longer fun.  And the only reasons now that I would ...

Okay now that I have your attention, let's agree on a couple points before we start. 1.  Nothing is free.  It may be "no cost to you" but there is no such thing as free.  If your boss gives you free tickets to a ballgame or free entry to a golf tournament, it was NOT free - the company paid for it.  If a meal is provided to you at an event, a sponsor somewhere paid for it.  If you won free tickets on the radio, a company bought them or gave up the income from them.  If you receive any type of benefit, be it tangible or intangible, someone somewhere gave up something or paid for it. 2.  Nobody likes taxes, any kind of taxes, period.  I don't like sales tax, property tax, income tax, or even hospitality tax (taxing me is not very hospitable).  But I do understand that taxes are necessary.  Tax money is what is used to fund and operate our local, state, and federal governments.  Does there need to be more transparency, accountabili...

My children (and my wife but this is about the kids) mean more to me than anyone else on this planet.  For many of us, children are our greatest investment, our greatest accomplishment, our greatest challenge, and our greatest hope for the future.  But sadly not all parents feel that way. SCENARIO #1 If I took my 3 year old son to NASCAR Driving Experience and snuck him without the officials there knowing, without paying his fee, and without registering him and put him a car driving in excess of 100 MPH and had a wreck injuring or killing him, who would you blame?  Would it be the officials fault who had warned of the dangers of bringing someone so small along, who had no knowledge or documentation that he was even there?  No.  It would be my fault because I was the one who put my child in a dangerous situation.   Ultimately, a child's safety falls on their parents or guardians.  My wife and I asked others and did our research about daycares...

While reading tonight, I came across a couple interesting facts. Fact #1: 81% of Americans say they are concerned about the declining moral behavior in our nation. (LifeWayResearch.com) Fact #2: 34% of Americans say religion is "largely old-fashioned and out of date." That's up from 7% in 1957. (Gallup.com) Now I'm no rocket scientist, but I think I can take a shot in the dark at solving this predicament. Maybe the problems in this world aren't the fault of the President (past or present), Congress, guns, drugs, or any one thing. Maybe the problem is that as a nation we have lost our moral compass.  We have allowed God to be taken out of nearly everything, and then we wonder why morality is on the decline.  Have you ever taken a lamp from a room and then complained to the lamp for allowing the room to be dark?  It's not the lamp's fault that YOU removed it.   Are we as Christians the perfect role models? Heck no, that...

So North Korea tested another ballistic missile that can supposedly reach anywhere in the mainland United States.  That means you should probably be paying attention to this if you aren't already.  Now I know that many people on each side of politics have differing views concerning how to handle situations like these via war and diplomacy.  There have been many diplomatic attempts to persuade North Korea to cease its nuclear operations, including current requests from the president to China and Japan to handle this diplomatically.  I am far from an expert on international relations, so allow me to attempt to simplify this situation. My family and I live in our home.  It has property lines, walls, and doors.  If you threaten, or even insinuate, that you may harm someone in my family; and show that you have the equipment, ability, and possible intent to do so; I will not wait for you to break in the door to deal with you.  Yes, we can try to work out o...

I watched a few NFL football games on Sunday.  At this point with all the protests and boycotts, I'm not sure if that makes people think that I'm an activist, a patriot, or just a guy who likes football.  Oddly enough, I actually enjoy the pregame talks and analysis more than the game itself sometimes.  And for the past few weeks I have tried to tune in early in order to see all of the pregame "activities." I noticed several weeks ago when kneeling in protest during the National Anthem became the "trendy" or "cool" thing to do that the NFL and major networks seemed to buy into that hype and attempt to use it to boost ratings.  I assume they were going with the old adage; "There is no such thing as bad publicity."  However, as ratings, sponsors, advertisers, and eventually money began to decline, the pregame protests became less of a focal point. And finally, this Sunday, November 12th, I believe the NFL and networks finally got it rig...

The national anthem of the United States of America is "The Star-Spangled Banner."  According to Wikipedia, it was written by " Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the American victory."  Key's poem was set to music by John Stafford Smith.  It was officially made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 by President Herbert Hoover.   The American flag a/k/a "The Star-Spangled Banner" has represented our freedom, our history, our hope that we have had in America.  No, America's past is not all good.  There are many injustices that I wish were not a part of our country's history, but they are there nonetheless.  We can delete them from history books but not from history.  B...