frdavid11

More than just a trim.

I used to love going to the barbershop. Okay, I admit that I didn’t like it at first, and when I was a teenager I once asked my father to take me someplace else (a salon of some kind) to get my hair cut. He reluctantly agreed, warning me that “they treat you like aContinue reading “More than just a trim.”

Daily Prayer, 8 August

One of the highest earning arcade video games of all time was NBA Jam. I can remember playing it AND its predecessor Arch Rivals, and one of the features of both was that if you made two consecutive shots, the game’s announcer would say “He’s heating up.” If you made a third consecutive attempt theContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 8 August”

That Ain’t Right

Living overseas is an educational experience. Of course, one learns a little of the local language and customs, visits the historical and cultural sites, but it’s in the smaller, more mundane aspects of life where the education can be most surprising. Take auto repair and service, for example. In the states I could easily findContinue reading “That Ain’t Right”

Daily Prayer, 1 August

One of the places my ship visited during deployment was Aqaba, Jordan. Because there were still COVID restrictions at the time, we were only allowed to venture as far as the pier, where some local vendors were permitted to sell some of their wares. So, I got to eat a little local food and purchaseContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 1 August”

Daily Prayer, 31 July

One of the things that we take aboard when we resupply at sea is our mail. After our replacement parts, food, and supplies land on deck we begin receiving first the official correspondence, and then the personal mail. You have never seen in your life the amount of Amazon logoed boxes as a deployed shipContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 31 July”

Do You Believe?

In the 1950s, a Harvard psychobiologist named Curt Richter conducted studies with rats, exploring how the responses to stress differ between the populations of wild rats versus domesticated rats. The study involved cutting off the rats’ whiskers and making them swim until they died, and, to the surprise of the researchers, the wild rats—expected toContinue reading “Do You Believe?”

Daily Prayer, 20 July

By this time in the deployment we were heading west, towards home, but still had to drive through some of the most dangerous seas on earth around the Arabian Peninsula. Trying to stay focused while both excited to be going home and fearful of what may lie ahead is tough, even for those who haveContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 20 July”

Daily Prayer, 19 July

One of the morale events the ship conducted while deployed was a talent show. It was a joy to see young men and women sing, play guitar and piano, dance, and tell stories for the entertainment of their shipmates. It was even more wonderful to see how encouraging of the performers everyone was. Aside fromContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 19 July”

Daily Prayer, 18 July

It has been a few weeks since I’ve been able to add some of these prayers, so I will be adding them out of sequence a bit, maybe adding the ones I’ve missed to the end. This one was date specific and reflects the period of our deployment. Several months away from home port, alreadyContinue reading “Daily Prayer, 18 July”

Daily Prayer, 23 June

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”