Just about every year for decades, my family has strung Christmas lights around the exterior of our home during the weekend after Thanksgiving. I’m not sure I will manage to get that done again this year, but I have noticed more of those twinkling bits of color popping up around the ...

Whenever I see my friend Hall of Fame speaker and author Dr. Willie Jolley at our professional speakers’ conferences and ask, “How are you doing Willie?” he always responds, “I’m blessed and highly favored.” Willie truly is blessed and highly favored. He has a great marriage, family ...

For the past decade, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy has been the craft beverage industry. Across the country, in cities and small towns alike, American entrepreneurs have set up successful small businesses producing small-batch beer, wine, and spirits. A few decades ...

It’s pretty common for people to long for the “good old days” at this time of year — and for many that is more true than ever as we continue to battle our way through the coronavirus pandemic. Families are worried that they won’t be able to spend the holidays together. Health and ...

As we come to Thanksgiving 2020, I would like to share some stories that have meant much to me in the past and others that told me they have enjoyed. This Thanksgiving will be different than any other. Some have said, “If you have a big family Thanksgiving gathering, you can also have ...

It was just a year ago. Lying in my hospital bed I watched my leg muscles shrink, wasting away because I couldn’t put any pressure on them. I could work my upper body and keep those muscles in tone. My arms got me to my wheelchair and in and out of the car. Muscles lose tone and get weak ...

Ohio, like the rest of the country, is currently experiencing an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases. The number of new cases per day in Ohio has more than doubled over the last three weeks. In short, the trajectory is not good, with not just more cases, but more hospitalizations, more ...

Believe it or not, it’s that time of year again — time to start preparing for the holiday season. One thing is certain: This year has been like no other that we can remember, and the holidays can’t be expected to be what we’ve become accustomed to, either. So, how do we deal with the ...

With COVID-19 and the issues surrounding it, the 2020 West Virginia high school soccer season was in question last summer. Coaches had a new set of rules dealing with COVID to work under. Everyone’s temperature needed to be taken before practice including coaches. Players needed to wear a ...

Last month, I was proud to vote to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court. She is an impressive person and a distinguished legal scholar who is well qualified for the job. In fact, the American Bar Association judges her to be “well qualified”, their highest ...

Despite all the animosity that has permeated our society in the months leading up to this year’s presidential election, I feel privileged and fortunate to be an American. I am proud of the things our nation has accomplished for the world, and I cherish the rights and freedoms that are ...

Eventually our current election will be resolved. I remember the 1976 presidential election. Lynnda and I hadn’t been married very long. She was a big Jimmy Carter supporter. I was a Gerald Ford supporter. She was thrilled when Carter won. I was sick. When the election was over we ...

November has arrived and with it comes several annual events. November always makes me think of helping others more during this upcoming holiday season. However, this election period has brought out the absolute worst I have ever seen of mankind. I cannot wait until all of this negativity ...

People are on edge. That is to be expected. After all, we are in the middle of a pandemic with very few solutions in sight. Sure, treatments for the illness known as COVID-19 are improving as doctors and scientists learn more and more about the coronavirus that causes it. Politicians and ...

There’s no doubt that the presidential election between President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden will be full of political fireworks. There’s also no doubt that, whatever the outcome, Ohio’s energy sector will feel the impact. By now, Ohioans are used to the attention ...

Operation Grant was launched as a joint mission of The Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump to inform Ohio’s conservative voters of the grave threat Donald Trump’s re-election poses to democracy in America. What we didn’t count on, quite frankly, was just how far our ...

A year ago this week, I ruptured both of my quads playing soccer. I spent two weeks in a hospital bed before surgery and a week after to recover. This was followed by a week in occupational therapy where I learned how to dress myself, get in and out of a wheelchair and transfer on a board ...

Do you ever stop and wonder what it is that you need in your life? What about the things we all need in order to make life better for everyone? I may not have the answers to those questions, but one of my neighbors has a pretty good idea. Sarah Scott thinks we all need front porches where ...

Our annual family reunions were a full day of fun. We had a large family. Almost everyone lived in the Pittsburgh area and most showed up. We could field two full teams for softball. In the evening, the men gathered at the keg. As a boy, it was a rite of passage when we were allowed to ...

Ohio’s conservatives and right-leaning independents have a choice to make this fall: Is it better to be loyal or wise? The dictionary tells us “loyal” means, to be “faithful to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product.” To be “wise,” on the other hand, means one ...