Monthly Archives: June 2023

Ray Morgan took ball four and trotted to first. Babe Ruth had thrown the pitch and did not agree at all with home plate umpire Brick Owens’ assessment of its location relative to the strike zone. Ruth lodged his complaint quite vehemently and punctuated his objection by punching Owens in the head. The umpire promptlyContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 23 June”

All members of the Armed Forces are required to maintain standards of physical readiness—including chaplains. Every year we have to weigh in and pass our Body Composition Assessment (BCA) and Physical Readiness Test (PRT). Even when deployed aboard ship commands are expected to conduct these assessments. Even though COVID prevented us from conducting our PRT,Continue reading “Daily Prayer, 22 June”

An unfortunate side effect of our ever-shortening attention spans is that we don’t take an appropriate amount of time to understand something (or someone) before filing it into what we think is the closest appropriate category—or narrative, if you will—so we can then move on to the next thing, which is similarly treated. Thus, theContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 19 June”

On the 17th of June 1775, some 2200 British soldiers under the command of Major General William Howe crossed the Charles River from Boston and landed on the shore of the Charlestown peninsula. The Royal Army had been trapped in Boston, under siege by the Colonial Militia. Recently reinforced by sea, the Redcoats planned toContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 17 June”

Every Officer and Sailor who sets foot on a U.S. Navy warship as part of her crew is required to get qualified. First, to stand watches in support of the ship’s operation, and then additional qualification as a warfare specialist. Surface sailors, Submariners, and Navy Airmen each have their own specialist qualification, and they allContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 16 June”

Happy Flag Day! This is another celebration that might get overlooked while deployed, and in any event isn’t given nearly the attention it deserves. If it were up to me, the effort put into other observances that seems so important these days—especially this month—would be redirected into remembering these parts of our shared history. ThereContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 14 June”

I have some catching up to do. Work demands have kept me from posting the past two weeks, but today I get to pick it up again with a story tied to an event that occurred this very date 238 years ago. Too many of these stories are left untold, pushed out by more “pressing”Continue reading “Daily Prayer, 12 June”