Bespoke

Life

  • A Note in Each Pocket

    My daughter Jenna texted me this message a few weeks ago while she watched the halftime events of an National Football League game. “Hey, Punt Pass and Kick is on the halftime show!” I didn’t bother to run and watch.… Continue reading

  • Getting Valentine’s Day Advice from London Cabbies

    I listened to Rory Sutherland expound on London cabbies this morning and how they are like guys on Valentine’s Day. The London taxicab driver is required to be able to decide routes immediately in response to a passenger’s request or… Continue reading

  • The Funniest People: George Johnson, My Hand Me Down Friend

    I’ve never wanted to wear my Father’s clothes. Which makes this scene surreal; college kids diving after my clothes like starving refugees collecting Cinnabons. I purged my closet over the holidays grabbing great clutches of cotton hoodies, denim jeans, flannel… Continue reading

  • 100 Years of Furious Indifference

    My maternal grandmother died three years ago, January 20, 2011, at the age of ninety-nine. She would have celebrated her 100th birthday May 1st, 2011 so I’m rounding to 100. I miss her…miss seeing her, hearing her laugh, gathering counsel… Continue reading

  • Dancing Around the Costume Chest

    Back in the days when my kids believed in Santa and my words had the force and weight to either bless them or crush them, our daughters and son indulged in make-believe, dressing up to become the character of their… Continue reading

  • Stealing Back Cool from Kerouac

    I’ve always loved cool…have no idea what it is but I love it. Perhaps I have no idea because cool expresses not one meaning or attitude but many, a cross-pollinated adjective moving fluidly in many cultures and languages. An Anglo… Continue reading

  • The Wind in My Hair

    I drove my wife and my daughter Jenna and her boyfriend, Josh, to see bison yesterday. Northwest of Pawhuska, OK is a Tallgrass reserve where buffalo still roam the grasslands. Josh and Jenna are both Harding University All-Conference athletes and… Continue reading

  • Megan’s Hands

    My daughter Jenna and I have a special hand shake thing which is difficult to describe but something that we’ve done since she was very young. It’s our secret and I can’t entirely divulge how it works, just that’s it’s… Continue reading

  • The Funniest People I Know: Ralph Rowand

    I left home in the stifling heat of August 1977 at the same time Elvis left the building for good. My destination was Searcy, Arkansas and Harding University. I had no inkling that the friends I made in college would… Continue reading

  • My Heart Was Singing My Legs Were Praying

    Tyler Davis on a recent trip to Uganda, praying with his legs. I was brought to faith in a church that valued knowledge and the intellect. Within the confines of my birth family, I watched my parents enflesh this knowledge… Continue reading