How to make a difference: Let's make sure the good cops keep on protecting and serving their fellow human beings

I did not know Ogden Police officer Nate Lyday, but I know this: In the midst of the sort chaos, unrest and turmoil that has me, personally, struggling with genuine feelings of anxiety, I am comforted by the idea that there are brave men and women who run toward danger while others are running the other way from it. Even in today's divisive climate ... ESPECIALLY in today's divisive climate.

Officer Lyday, whose funeral took place yesterday in Ogden, Utah (a city that has come to mean so much to me), protected and served. And he gave his life doing so, responding to a May 28 domestic disturbance call. He was only 24 years old.

Considering June 6, 1944, and contemplating what it means to believe in something bigger and better

I wrote the following blogpost back on June 6, 2016. It's about an experience I had while visiting Normandy, France. While there, I got to visit an American military cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach. 

The post I wrote just four years ago meant a lot to me because it conveyed the powerful feelings I felt as I considered the Allied soldiers who fought so bravely for something far bigger than themselves. So many lost their lives on June 6, 1944, paying the ultimate sacrifice for ... us. And many of those who survived D-Day went on to help liberate Nazi concentration camps. Think about that! We, who enjoy incredible freedom even in a time of great turmoil and chaos, have the freedom to worship, work, play, speak freely, and yet, even protest, in very large part because this country's greatest generation lived and died for something than itself.

We have the freedom to believe how we want, and to not just fight for, but live for, something bigger than ourselves.  

Start to make it stop: Refuse to be a prisoner of dangerous one-way thinking

Photo courtesy of usnews.com

I refuse to become a prisoner of one-way thinking. Chaos, confusion and contempt live in the margins ... in the extremes. That's where the madness happens; where destruction resides. Consideration, caring and most importantly CONNECTION, live in the middle, like the vast majority of us.

I know racism exists in this country, and that it's unequivocally wrong. But I refuse to believe this country is evil or that the majority of its citizens -- regardless of race, religion etc. -- aren't good and caring people. There is no greater country. I'm capable of holding on to each of those thoughts.

What America is: April 30, 1945 showed our country's greatness

On today's date 75 years ago, the U.S. Army's 45th Infantry Division liberated the Nazi concentration camp known as Dachau.

It was a blessed day for the thousands of sickened and emaciated survivors who regained the freedom stolen from them by a ghastly and evil dictator. And yet those survivors carried with them horrific memories of truly unspeakable atrocities; their minds doubtlessly thought of loved ones who had been so ruthlessly murdered.

Why kindness heals

Photo credit: simplemindfulness.com 

Here's a little Sunday sermon for you, and when I say "you" I mean me, because I'm guilty of getting this wrong all the time (and when I say "sermon" I don't mean "religious," so keep reading, please, because I think it's all-inclusive).

It's important to understand that we don't always (or ever, I guess) need to know WHAT challenge someone is dealing with, only THAT he or she facing an obstacle.

Adding my tribute: What Kobe did for me

Kobe Bryant treated me with class, respect and professionalism.  

I want to add this rather small experience to the many tributes to Kobe Bryant. 

As many know, I spent several years working as a sportswriter, and during that time I spent a decade covering the Utah Jazz and the NBA. As part of my job, I had occasion to interview a number of athletes, including Kobe. 

Tell me I'm wrong, bro: Gervais calls out Hollywood, and man, was it deviously awkward

Ricky Gervais

Even at their best, neither Bruce Lee nor Chuck Norris ever eviscerated anyone quite like Ricky Gervais did. 

Bruce and Chuck were masters of martial arts. 

Gervais was simply the master of ceremony at Sunday's Golden Globes awards. 

The British actor/comedian, never a popular guy in Hollywood anyway (he's seen as too mean-spirited, I guess), stood in front of the A-list crowd and attacked its hypocrisy with the surgical precision of a Kung Fu master ripping a man's heart out of his chest, then showing it to him before he dies (like Bruce Lee himself).