Unedited
Apr 21, 2015
Mr. Charlie’s Dog: A Story of Responsibility from My Childhood
I have mentioned Mr. Charlie one other time that I can remember; the old man who lived across from us on the bank of the Hatchie River. He is something of a legend for those that have fished in that area, not only because of the gargantuan catfish he would haul ...
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TRThursday: Bill Sewall – Roosevelt’s Manly Mentor
“I could see not a single thing that wasn’t fine in Theodore, no qualities that I didn’t like. Some folks said that he was headstrong and aggressive, but I never found him so except when necessary; and I’ve always thought being headstrong and aggressive, on occasion, was a pretty good thing.” – Bill Sewall, The ...
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Famous Quotes: Fierce or Flippant – C.S. Lewis
When C.S. Lewis made the below quote, he was referring to the attitude of atheist at Cambridge vs. Oxford. In his day, there were such a large contingent of atheist at Oxford that they had become soft-thinkers rather than vocal or intellectual proponents of their beliefs. Cambridge, on the other hand, had a ...
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TRThursday: Worth More than a College Education…
While much time is spent on Theodore Roosevelt the out-of-doors-man and President, his fervent beliefs as a Christian are often overlooked. Much of what guided his views of manhood came from what he believed God-fearing Christian men were both called to be and, with the help of God, able to become.
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TRThursday: Cooler Than You and Me by Age 15!
Most accounts of Theodore Roosevelt’s life gloss over his early years. His battle and victory over his health issues are generally included, particularly asthma and cholera morbus (a bacterial attack on the bowels resulting in what one would expect), then jump into his Harvard boxing days and see our hero transformed into a fit, ...
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TRThursday: A Pistol With a History!
“This is a pistol with a history,” he said, fondling his revolver affectionately. “It was taken from the wreck of the Maine. When I took it to Cuba, I made a vow to kill at least one Spaniard with it, and I did…” – Theodore Roosevelt, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Edmund Morris
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Man to Man: Dealing with Labels
When I was a kid, I spent a good bit of time playing in the mud and fields of the Hatchie river bottoms in Tennessee. As such, I was a filthy wreck most of the time. This, along with being a growing kid and “country poor”, meant I received a good deal ...
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TRThursday: Play Your Part, Manfully!
There is a lot of cynicism in today’s culture and media. Cynicism is different from sarcasm, for sarcasm is a play on truth and leaves the door open for humor or a way out, but cynicism is merely hopeless. Growing up, Ronald Regan was my president, and the message from him was almost ...
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The American Rustics
As I believe I have mentioned before, I am working on a book on various men of history titled something along the lines of “# Men of History: And the Character Every Man Should Cultivate.” The # will be the actual number of men in the book (originally it was going to be ...
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Feb 19, 2015
TRThursday: The Power to Strive and Fight and Conquer!
The word ‘Manly’ was one of Roosevelt’s favorite terms. In his day the term was associated less with machismo and more with true manliness. Yet even by the late 1800’s, Roosevelt began to see a softness forming in the American Spirit. The move from the hard-working, rural lifestyle to the comfort of the ...
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Men! Burn Your Ships!
In a sermon this last Sunday (2/15/2015) one of our pastors mentioned Cortés’ famous “burning of his ships” during his conquest of the Aztecs around 1519. For Cortés this was done to prevent a growing mutiny and is often used as an analogy for cutting off all forms of retreat, forcing ourselves to dedicate 100% ...
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TRThursday: Mind and Morals
Theodore Roosevelt is said to have read some 10,000 books in his lifetime. He had an amazing ability to speed-read and retain the information. It was not unusual for him to read a book or two in a day, in his spare moments paging through a book on botany and then in another moment on the war ...
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