Reflections

Recently, I had a continuing education in Las Vegas. It happen to be the week of the National Finals Rodeo. The strip was electric as always but with a "howdy" kind of environment. The CE that was being put on was with the National Auctioneer Association. If you know many people in that trade, you'll realize that most of them are salt of the earth people who have chosen the unique business of auctioneer/marketing. Some of the best friends I have have come from my relationship with this trade organization. Since we were in Vegas during the week of the NFR; we had to get tickets. We show up at the Thomas Mack stadium at 6:15 excited about the opening events at 6:45. If you've gone to a rodeo, you'll appreciate the excitement and anticipation of the cowboys and cowgirls participating in difficult and dangerous sport activities. While bareback and saddle bronc are two dangerous events, I would say that the world agrees that the bull riding is the most dangerous...

Elizabeth, Bonnie Logan, Kyle Meeting your wife at the youthful age of 17 has so many blessings. We practically raised each other. Just kids, we molded each other in so many ways. Early on in our dating, in fact, our second date, we both expressed our fondness for each other and desire to have God in the center of our new found relationship. It was a great date that August 1984 night, and our bond has done nothing but get stronger over these 33 years. You may have read about my finding Elizabeth's birth mother. Its a great story, and one that shaped our lives and relationship in many ways. Going back to the "17" years; part of my desire to find Elizabeth's birth mother was the curiosity that God placed in my heart. I just had to piece the puzzle of her life together; that included the things I didn't know about her, and the things she didn't even know about her own story. Things like, in what hospital was she born. Where did she go as a foster child (the...

More proof of a fallen world. Hollywood icons recently have apologized for sexual depravity. A Hollywood producer has been accused of rape; by multiple women. Hollywood stars acknowledge sexual favors for the exchange of awards or parts in a movie. And now, another mass shooting in a house of worship in a small town in Texas. How could the sexual depravity of the Hollywood “elite” and a horrific mass shooting in a small church be tied together? I believe they have a digital common denominator. First, I am convinced that the confusing nature of American sexuality is embodied in a generation that grew up on pornography. Openly introduced by the late Hugh Hefner, then taken to extreme levels by Hustler entrepreneur Larry Flynt. So many young people learned the fantasy ideas of sex and sexuality by the pretend world of these magazines. Then later, as the computer came of age, still pictures were transformed into video and later live streaming. The creation of feeding t...

Heat for the blood milk in Kenya We only have about 4 score on this earth. Understanding that  too well, I have been a person who has enjoyed experimenting with adventure. Whether it's hiking the AT or deep sea fishing, I have wanted to be able to say, "Yes!" I’ve had that experience. Travel is no exception. Exploring the world has taken me into the unique barrios of Paraguay, to Buenos Aires where I stood in front of the Casa Rosada (crying 'Eva Peron!"). Liz and I camped in a tent in the Serengeti (Kenya) for five days once where we had the uninvited baboon tapping on the top of our tent as our wake up call at dawn. We’ve even sat on the side streets of the Champs-Elysées in Paris and watched the sun go down over the Arc de Triomphe while eating the most delicious cheese. The common denominator of all of these adventures was not just the incredible vistas like the plains of the Rift Valley, or the river views along the Uruaguay   in Argent...

Every October, I am reminded about a significant event that happened in my young married life. Indulge me for a moment. I grew up in a house with a patient mother and an aging grandmother who ran a country store. On a Wednesday night, she attended midweek bible study, left with a headache, went home and sat on the bed with a beet red look upon her face. She lost her speech before she was taken to the hospital.  A North Carolina Fall Season Laying on the hospital bed, her eyes became paralyzed staring at the ceiling. Still speechless we all spoke to her as thought she could her us. I guess I won't know until heaven if she heard our departing words. Slowly the monitors began to loose the beat; and then Dr. Edwards said "She's gone". Grandmaw was the first close person in my life to leave this earth.  The reason I am posting this is because I remember the day of her memorial. A classic Carolina fall day. Perfect temperature. The leaves were rich ...

Having been involved in the pregnancy care centers for 17 years, I have seen a lot of changes. In 2000, I joined Salem Pregnancy Care Center board located in Winston Salem, NC. Motivated from the life experience of being married to an adopted child whose birth-mother was ministered to during her crisis pregnancy, it was my hopes in some small way to give back and just maybe help a mother who was considering an abortion and to help her rethink that decision. There’s no question that when leadership in North Carolina passed the NC Woman’s Right to Know Act” (House Bill 854 / S.L. 2011-405), supporters of life were excited.   Like any divisive issue, it came with extensive criticism. The law was passed and went into effect in October 2011. The bill outlined several new guidelines which must be met and carried out before a woman can receive an abortion. It was originally vetoed by Governor Bev Perdue but the veto was overridden by the General Assembly. North Carolina...

Saturday Night came on quickly with the hint of an autumn cold. I took 2 Nyquil cold pills and my eye lids suddenly became so heavy that I couldn’t lift them. Forgoing my nightly ritual, I woke up after 8 solid hours of sleep and realized that I did not plug in my iPhone. In today’s world, that’s like going to bed with your shoes on…. you just don’t forget something like that. The coma-like sleep I enjoyed in actuality was an unintentional experiment.   You could call it a scientific procedure undertaken without intention, but with a new discovery demonstrating an unrealized fact. So, here’s how the experiment took place. Before getting on the way to church this morning, I asked Siri what the weather would be. I looked at my phone and only had 12% of my battery left. I thought to myself, I’ll get 10% in the car on the way. By the time we left the driveway, I realized that the car charger was in another vehicle. I began to think…conservation!! On Sundays, I use my p...

“The one who chooses to Love will find appropriate ways to express that decision everyday.”   Gary Chapman Gary, Karolyn, Liz and me Scrolling through the net, I came upon this quote. Gary is a pastor at my church, a number 1 best-selling author and more importantly a friend. In this quote, a couple of words really jumped out at me. The first word was “chooses”. Thinking about love; I went inward. There is no doubt that Elizabeth (my wife) chooses to love me. I am certain there are times I’m a very unlovable person. But because she makes that personal decision to love me, it causes me to love her even more. While Elizabeth in my eyes has very few flaws, I’ll go out on a limb and tell you that she isn’t perfect. But as I have gotten older, I have intentionally chosen to look inward when I see others flaws outwardly. It gives me pause to realize I am no perfect person. I have a lot of issues myself. The fact that Elizabeth “chooses” to love me causes my love ...

It couldn’t be me? Grant it, I’m middle age, but how could this have happen to me. Coming to terms with the aging process can really frustrate a young minded middle age guy (notice my description of self). Although I could stand to lose 15 pounds, I have always been health conscience attempting to stay active. I’ve considered myself very healthy. Over the last few years, Elizabeth and I have argued about very little. However, when we get in front of the TV, we played tug-a-war with the volume. I wanted it on 18, she wanted it on 10. For a long time, I thought it was just a gender thing. Later, I began struggling in group settings hearing people I would be having a conversation with. Then, embarrassed, people would speak to me and I would simply nod my head to acknowledge them. They could have been asking me a question, they could have told me they thought I was stupid….I’d just grin and try to change the subject to “it’s a great day”. It honestly...

I purchased my NASA approved eclipse glasses on Amazon. As they promised,  they were delivered within two days. As with half the population within 100 miles of either side of the totality line, our office waited in great expectation. When the time came, sporting my safety glasses, I looked up into the heavens. The picture that I saw was amazing. It spoke to me of heaven itself. Years ago, King David wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and their expanse shows the work of his hands." Obviously, I don't look into the eye of the sun on a regular basis. But with these powerful shades, for just a moment I could see the sun and moon perfectly pair with each other. I said to myself, this didn't happen by accident. How could it? I looked up and beheld the majesty of an almighty creator. If you're a person who is skeptical about this God thing, think about yesterday. Think about the chances of this happening. It couldn't have happen without an intellig...

Wrong Today, I reached out and offered a handshake to a young millennial. Don't think I'm picking on that age group, that's just what he was. He's not a friend of mine on social media, so he probably won't read this blog...but if so...good. I remember my dad telling me as a young man, "offer a tight squeeze, and look the person in the eye".  This young man didn't attend the Jerry Swicegood School of Handshakes. I honestly felt like I was holding the hand of a corpse. It was limp and lethargic. If the hand had a personality, I would have called it melancholy. A short search on google identifies that the custom of handshakes started in the medieval times. As dangerous as those times were, it was important to demonstrate that you weren't carrying a weapon. Later it became a customary way for a gentleman to politely greet one another. Then it was a demonstration of a bond, an agreement. Today it is gender neutral. Right In 2017, I don...

Who would have thought in 1983 that my friend, Lee would be an executive manager of a successful town and I'd would have owned a business for 28 years.  We had just turned 16. We were idealistic young "bens" ( b oys trying to be m en ). School had just let out. For 9 months Lee was an experimental driver; one might call him a novice. Me on the other hand, I had only had my license for three months. But like most "country boys" we both had been driving the back roads since we were 13, praying we wouldn't get caught. I had a jack-up, large tired, roll-bar pick up strewn with KC 1,000,000 power spot lights. I considered myself a sophisticated redneck. For months we had been dreaming about heading to the mountains.  Camping, experiencing nature as two independent men (or so we thought). So the week after school was released, we loaded up the bed of the truck with sleeping bags, lounge chairs, coolers, flashlights, food, a tarp and rope. Basically everything ...

Some people would have probably called me cheap, but others that knew me understood. There was something about being outside and on the water that caused me to have some of my most cherished dates with my wife Elizabeth Swicegood; what were we doing? Fishing, yes fishing. Back in 1984, I had seen a number of afternoons on the water. There wasn't a fishing pond within 5 miles of my parent's house that I had not paid a visit to. So, when I took my first visit to Elizabeth Sharp's house, I had only heard there was a pretty girl from Texas that had moved in. No one said anything about two fishing ponds. So, I possibly could have been accused to picking Elizabeth as my girlfriend because her dad had a 100-acre farm with two fishing ponds.  One open and the other with great cover. The two tranquil bodies of water were special. Un-fished for many years before they moved from the prairies of north Texas, these two ponds were target central for me as a 17-year-old. Ok, ...

I  Travel is my favorite past time. And when I travel, I like to get off the beaten path.   I remember flying into the capital city of Paraguay, Asuncion, and enjoying the Latin metropolitan scene but hiring a taxi driver to take Elizabeth and I across the tropical rain forest   through Caguazu over the border to Brazil in Cuidad de Este to the world’s largest water fall system, Iguazu falls. Adventure! That particular 12 hour day trip is worth a story in and of itself. Finding places that are not overrun with people & billboards is where I believe you really find the beauty of this world. Concrete, asphalt and towers are necessary, but finding peace, tranquility and nature usually is far from these man made objects. Soon, we will be traveling to a similar adventure; this time Americana style. My home away from home for sometime has been Montana. My close friends, Dan Pate & Leah Welsh have welcomed us into their world; Big Sky world. ...