David McElroy

making sense of a dysfunctional culture

To see how I’ve changed over time, notice which women I’ve fallen for

By ·

When I got married at 24, I assumed it would be my only marriage. Don’t most people believe that about themselves?

I came across this photo in an old album tonight and it felt as though it was from another lifetime. But that’s me up there next to the lovely woman in the white dress. That’s my best man, Larry, to my right. That’s her best friend, Monique, on her left. That’s Rev. Leroy Anthony officiating. That’s his wife, Martha, at the organ on the right. That’s my father and his second wife on the right side of the second pew.

And that’s the woman who I married back then. In the interest of her privacy, I’m not going to be much more specific or show her face. There’s nothing to hide, but I just see no reason to drag her face into my musings tonight.

Keep Reading

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts

Shallow thinking and arrogance led to ruin of once-great society

By ·

It must be nice to pick a political “team” and then never again bother to question whether your team’s beliefs might be fundamentally flawed.

It must be nice to do a shallow scan of everything you encounter and look for anything you disagree with — so you can use that as an excuse to disregard everything else a person might be trying to say. It must be convenient to know you don’t have to bother considering anything you don’t already believe is true.

American society is still pretty good at doing things and making things. We have better tools and technology than ever for molding physical objects into what we want them to be. (Those are an extension of open inquiry by previous generations.) But we are failing on a deeper level — and we are heading toward a devastating collapse — because we have become intellectually shallow and morally arrogant.

We are rushing over a cliff as fast as we can — and everybody can point a finger at someone else to blame.

Keep Reading

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts

76-year-old George is a showman who loves making audience smile

By ·

Everybody seemed to know George as soon as he walked in. He’s friendly and he’s charming.

I was at the front counter of a Jack’s restaurant waiting for my Tuesday dinner. Most of the employees were busy, but George was soon attracting an audience of employees and customers. His charm was magnetic enough that it was hard to walk away.

He brought in a box filled with magic tricks. Someone in the back called out for him to do with one with balancing nails and everybody was soon laughing. George is a regular in the restaurant, but I’d never seen him, since he’s a fixture at breakfast time instead of the evening.

He had me write down a number for him and with a bit of trickery, he knew my number. He used the same system to “guess” someone else’s number. I could generally tell how the trick worked, but I didn’t really care. George was having such a good time — and his audience was so happy — that nobody really cared how the tricks worked.

Keep Reading

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts