The beginning of 2011 for my wife and I was an extreme example of a figurative pendulum swinging from pure bliss to sheer terror.
I suppose that is one of many ways to attempt and shed light on an evening that was full of New Year’s Eve freedom and frivolity, yet ended with a wretched encounter with a mad stranger who threatened to kill me and my family.
It is one those sudden circumstances that leaves you shocked, angry and beyond perplexed. But, ultimately, I have chosen relief. This wayward meeting could …

I really struggle with perspective on a daily basis. It is not so much a result of perpetual deep thinking or a consistent metaphysical point of view on everything. Well, sometimes that is the case, but the day-to-day mental grind I often encounter just deals with how I need to approach a given day.
It is safe, in my opinion, to assume that the majority of people over 20 years old deal with this same problem. Of course, a large segment of US society has genuine hardships, whether it is mental …

It is much easier and enjoyable to write about the great times I have with my two-year-old daughter as a stay-at-home father rather than the rough times. Usually, that is at the forefront of my daily experiences.
But not every day is a simple, successful and fun stroll through a summer day. With the events of last night and this morning still fresh in my mind, I’ll list everything that went awry prior to nap time.
I do want to preface this blog post by saying I do my best to stay …

I love to play basketball. I always have, yet there have been a few incredible gaps in my lifetime where I simply did not include basketball in my life. From my early college years to a couple of years into my career as a sportswriter, I did not play much at all. Upon further reflection, this is no surprise since physical fitness had zero priority in my life for that five- or six-year period.
Taking care of obtaining my degree from the University of Missouri and working my way through school …