The writings here are in the nature of a blog. Unlike most blogs, the most recent post is under this pinned post. There is no specific topic; I like to write occasionally. Be advised, though, that my writing is often in the form of a stream of consciousness. I know the overall theme. Then, I start writing until I get to what I believe is the end. Sidetrips are inevitable, but I get back to the point.
I write about the law because I’ve spent over 40 years in it. I write about things that interest me, like politics, history, current events, God, people, family, observations, and reflections. I avoid the names of people because ethically, sometimes I have to or to avoid embarrassment to others. It wouldn’t be fair because no one can defend themselves here.
But I say what I believe, and sometimes words offend. It’s not because I’m offensive; it’s because we live in a time when people need to feel offended by every perceived slight. There will be nothing here I wouldn’t speak to another person.
There won’t be the opportunity to leave comments, good or bad. I don’t fear comments but can’t always get back promptly. But, if you want to comment, you can do so from the contact page via email. [NOTE: AS OF JANUARY 10, 2026, COMMENTS CAN BE SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL]
There are questions people, including people of faith, deal with. Other than faith, how can we know God exists in the world? Many things can reveal patterns and laws that suggest a Creator.
We know the fine tuning of physical constants, like gravity or the strong nuclear force, for life to exist is statistically improbable without design. The complexity of DNA and biological systems resembles a code, spurring discussions of intelligent design. The order and predictability of the universe, governed by consistent laws, indicate a rational source, a designer. So, is the designer God, or is everything by accident?
I look to the wonders of nature. It is all pretty majestic, and with little human interference, it runs perfectly. But I found out something the other day. We have a couple of bird feeders. Those pesky squirrels show up, and it is amazing to watch them make their way up a thin pole to gobble the seed meant for the birds.
So, I am watching this, and it occurs to me that long ago, there were no bird feeders, but there were birds. And there were squirrels. But then people came along. I doubt bird feeders went up immediately. People had to be hunter gatherers to survive. But fast forward, and as people became more civilized, a bird feeder appears. And the birds love it. But then squirrels love it too.
A discovery is made. By adding hot spices to the bird seed, the squirrel palate cannot handle the burning taste. But it doesn’t bother the birds. Problem solved. I found it interesting and mentioned to my wife that people would find what I am going to say odd (I think she did when she heard it), but to me it is proof God exists. Sure, it seems a small point, but I figure He sweats the small stuff, even if He doesn’t want us to. Since I believe God is forever and knows all that will happen, He knew someday people would have bird feeders and saw the conflict between the two species. So, in His infinite wisdom, knowing there would one day be hot spices, He made the taste unbearable to squirrels but not to birds. He knew people would figure it out, and we did.
Many will read this and roll their eyes. To me it is one more piece of evidence that God figured it out long ago and knew how to handle the problem. But there is biblical support for this kind of thinking. Scripture says creation itself declares the work of God’s hands, that not even a sparrow falls without His notice, and that we can learn about Him by paying attention to the creatures around us. So, when I see something as small as birds enjoying seed that squirrels cannot tolerate, it reminds me that God’s design runs through everything. And in moments like that, I find myself simply grateful that He cares enough to weave even the smallest details into the world around us.
Today is the 811th year anniversary of the Magna Carta (not Charta), Latin for the Great Charter. It’s a somewhat unusual document because the original was really an agreement between King John of England and the nobility. However, from year to year, revisions were made. Some historians believe the nobility were not simply representing themselves but were, in a broader sense, representing the people of England. What does not seem in dispute is that English colonists carried its ideas across the Atlantic, wrote colonial charters with its principles in mind, and eventually saw some of its provisions echoed in the United States Constitution.
Over time, the Magna Carta became more than a peace treaty between a king and his barons. It evolved into a symbol of the principle that even the sovereign must obey the law , the beginnings of the rule of law. Later generations, especially in the 17th century, treated it as a foundational guarantee of individual rights, even though the original document was far narrower. Thinkers like Sir Edward Coke cited it as proof that English liberties were ancient and inviolable, helping transform a political compromise into a constitutional touchstone.
By the time English settlers arrived in North America, the Magna Carta had taken on a life of its own. Colonial assemblies, charters, and later revolutionary leaders drew on its language about due process, limits on arbitrary power, and the right to judgment by one’s peers. When the framers drafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they borrowed directly from these inherited principles, especially in protections like habeas corpus, trial by jury, and constraints on executive authority. In that sense, the Magna Carta’s legacy is not that it solved the problems of 1215, but that it planted ideas that would shape constitutional government centuries later.
And here we are, in less than a month, celebrating 250 years since issuing our own indictment of England and declaring independence, leading to the United States of America. The men who gathered in Philadelphia in 1776 did not see themselves as inventing liberty from scratch. They believed they were asserting rights that were already theirs as Englishmen, rights rooted in centuries of tradition, including principles first expressed in the Magna Carta. When Jefferson wrote that the king had violated the laws of nature and of nature’s God, he was also drawing on the long standing belief that rulers were bound by law and not above it. The Declaration of Independence became, in a sense, America’s own great charter, a statement that government exists by consent, that power has limits, and that people have the right to alter or abolish a government that violates those limits. It was the culmination of ideas carried across the ocean, reshaped by colonial experience, and sharpened by conflict. And just as the Magna Carta grew far beyond its original purpose, the Declaration grew into a universal statement of human liberty, influencing constitutions and movements around the world. For Americans, it remains the moment when inherited rights became self government and when a set of principles became a nation.
The narrated video below shows footage of the Rubber Bowl torn down; the plan being to bury and cover the site with dirt. It’s a piece of Ohio history disappearing, a stadium that once hosted memorable sporting events and concerts.
On Tuesday, July 11, 1972, the Rolling Stones performed at the Akron Rubber Bowl as part of their American Tour. The video talks about the demolition, but there’s another story connected to that night that many may not be aware of.
Kent State football players often worked security at Rubber Bowl concerts for a little extra money. One of them that night was Bob Bender, who was set to be the starting middle linebacker for Don James’s defense. He was dependable, tough, and the kind of player coaches trusted to run the middle of the field.
Bender was assigned to the front of the stage, close enough to see Mick Jagger’s expressions as the band played. The crowd was loud and restless, the kind of energy only a big stadium concert in the early seventies could produce.
During the show, someone in the crowd threw a bottle toward the stage. It spun through the lights for a split second. Bender reacted instantly and caught it out of the air. Mick Jagger saw the whole thing.
After the concert, Jagger had Bender brought backstage. According to Nick Saban, who told this story years later, Jagger offered him a job on the spot. Full‑time security. Travel with the band. Start immediately. Bender accepted. He never returned to camp.
With the middle linebacker suddenly gone, the coaches had to reshuffle the defense. They moved a tall, intense defensive end into the middle to fill the vacancy.
Enter, Jack Lambert.
Lambert only became a middle linebacker because Bob Bender went to work for the Rolling Stones. That one moment changed Kent State’s defense and eventually helped shape the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dynasty. Lambert went on to become an All‑American, a second‑round draft pick, and the heart of the Steel Curtain and Hall of Famer.
All of it tied to a night at the Rubber Bowl, a flying bottle, and a split‑second catch that changed football history.
Sometimes a person looks at the world and feels it pulling in two directions at once. One voice says, “Invent yourself. Create who you want to be.” Another says, “Join a group. Take on its labels. Let your tribe tell you who you are.”
Both seem to promise clarity, belonging, and freedom.
Yet neither feels like the whole truth. If someone can make themselves from scratch, why do they still feel unfinished And if they let a group define them, why do they feel smaller instead larger. So the question rises quietly in the heart, “Who tells me who I am?”
Me: Lord, the world keeps telling people that identity is something they build or something they choose. Either they invent themselves or they join a group and let that define them. But both feel unstable. Both feel loud.Both feel like they demand something a person does not have.
God: That is because neither one is a foundation. Identity is not a construction project nor is it a political category. Identity is a gift.
Me: A gift?
God: Yes. A person is not a blank canvas waiting for paint. They’re not a puzzle waiting for pieces; and they’re not a slogan, a label, or a demographic box. Me: What are they?
God: They are My creation. My image. My workmanship. My child.
Me: But the world says people should define themselves.
God: And I say they should discover themselves, the self I made. Identity is not invented. It is revealed by the One who made them.
Me: Then why do people cling so tightly to labels and tribes
God: Because they are searching for belonging, meaning, a name. But no human group can give a name that reaches the soul. And no self constructed identity can hold the weight of a human life. Only the One who made a person can tell them who they are.
Me: Then who am I
God: You are Mine, and everything else flows from that. This Conversation is not meant as God’s literal speech, it simply reflects my thoughts on how Scripture shows His heart toward those who struggle with questions.
Reflection
There is a deep peace in realizing that a person does not have to manufacture themselves into something impressive or assemble an identity to feel real. They do not have to cling to a label to be seen, and they do not have to join a tribe to belong. Identity is not a performance, a political category, or a personal invention. It is a gift given by the One who knew them before they knew themselves. And perhaps that is the freedom many have been missing, the freedom of discovering that they do not have to define themselves but only need to discover the One who already has.
82 years later, we honor the extraordinary heroes of D-Day. On that fateful morning, thousands of brave American soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy with unwavering courage in defense of freedom. They fought not for glory or recognition, but for one another, for their country, and for the generations yet to come. Every time Old Glory rises, we are reminded of their profound sacrifice and the price paid for the liberty we cherish today. Let us honor their legacy by never taking that freedom for granted.
Some left early. Airborne troops left for France June 5th, the evening before the invasion. I can’t say my dad did because he never said. He was with a glider group with the Army Air Force that was part of the invasion.
What blows me away is a kid 18 hits the beach June 6th is now 100 years old if still with us. See less
The writings here are in the nature of a blog. Unlike most blogs, the most recent post is under this pinned post. There is no specific topic; I like to write occasionally. Be advised, though, that my writing is often in the form of a stream of consciousness. I know the overall theme. Then, I start writing until I get to what I believe is the end. Sidetrips are inevitable, but I get back to the point.
