Author Archives: Jim Gleason

If we listen, we hear the sounds of celebration all around us. Proud parents rejoice at the first cry of their newborn baby, a toddler’s first word, their child riding a bike for the first time, a child scoring a goal or getting an A, or the same child graduating or getting married. How aboutContinue reading “Joyful Noise”

What would it take for you to deny your beliefs? What would have to happen for you to betray your values? Could someone force you to do something that causes you to sacrifice your core thoughts and motivations? Of course, most of us do not know what we would do in extreme situations. Some peopleContinue reading “Blazing Furnace”

What is your highest ambition? For some people, it is a conquest like climbing Mount Everest. Some seek fame like their face on the cover of a magazine. Others desire wealth in order to buy whatever they want. Some people just want control, like becoming the CEO of a major company. All of these goalsContinue reading “Highest Ambition”

Once again violence dominates the news cycle. It seems that people are increasingly finding that the only resolution to their problems is violence. So an angry mob breaks through security at the nation’s Capitol building to demonstrate their frustration with election results. A man shoots another man because he couldn’t get what he wanted atContinue reading “Strike Out”

People my age tend to talk a lot about the good old days. We tend to romanticize the days when we were young. Invariably we are of the opinion that those times were simpler and better. We long for those good feelings to return. In some ways we are right that those days were betterContinue reading “Good Old Days”

What is the loftiest title that has been given to you? Perhaps you have been named Vice President or Chief Executive Officer of your company. Maybe you are the Chairman of the Board for a charitable organization. Were you the head coach of a sports team? Elder, deacon or pastor are honorable titles to obtainContinue reading “Honorific Titles”

I have never had anyone offer me a blank check. This type of check is signed and guaranteed by the owner and all you have to do is fill in the amount. The validity of the check depends upon the signature and resources of the owner. I don’t imagine that you have received such aContinue reading “Blank Check”

People are trying all sorts of things to become “known “. Some do crazy stunts and posts videos on YouTube. Others take a million selfies and post them on Instagram. Some people record their every thought on Twitter or Facebook. I know some people who seem to speak everything that comes into their heads. AllContinue reading “Fully Known”

With the pandemic, a number of experts have appeared on the news. You have to respect their knowledge and experience. However, they are not always correct in their assessments and projections. We shouldn’t fault them for that as this pandemic has caused us to face a number of issues that we have not seen before.Continue reading “So Called Experts”

The other day, in the grocery store, I told a grocery clerk that I had really good news for her. I said, ” 2020 ends in two days.” She sighed and said despondently, “Yeah.” I am not sure that I cheered her up. It’s probably because my comment reflected a rather negative outlook by focusingContinue reading “Really Good News”