This must be the place: ‘A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just’
The quote used to title this column was stated by the late Pope Francis, who passed away last week at age 88. Rest easy, good sir.
Pope Francis was cool in my book, even though I can’t say the same for the Catholic Church, in general.
This must be the place: ‘And that same black line, that was drawn on you, was drawn on me’
The wildest thing about being a longtime writer is that you end up compartmentalizing most of your life through your assignments, interviews, deadlines, and so forth.
This must be the place: ‘I’m young in eternity, I’m old in my father’s face’
I woke up this morning with this heavy feeling of how fast time is moving. I mean, in essence, time doesn’t exist and everything is all one moment. But, I still see those increasing grey hairs in my beard and well-earned laugh wrinkles in my face.
This must be the place: ‘I don’t expect you to listen, but the show goes on’
Early Tuesday morning. Sitting in the dentist chair, I stared blankly out onto the parking lot, only to then notice the bustling traffic on nearby U.S. 276. It was at that moment when the nice dental hygienist asked if a date and time in mid-September 2025 would be ideal for my next teeth cleaning.
Let it find us doing ordinary things
The goal of a writer is to pen words that inspire, educate or entertain, but sometimes, when the world feels heavy, it’s challenging to think of a topic that will resonate. As a decade-long columnist for The Smoky Mountain News, my readers have come to mean a lot to me.
