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I was a 20-year-old college student driving down an interstate highway. I didn’t have any money, but I did have an AMC Matador (AMC is no longer around). Traveling at about 65mph, the hood latch gave way. The hood popped up and slammed back into my windshield, creating a spiderweb crack and covering my view of everything. It was just like the movie Tommy Boy. Talk about scary!

This past week I’ve tried to educate myself into the causes behind this terrible war in Ukraine. The history behind this is quite complicated.

This was my third trek to Israel. My last two trips I led tours. They were wonderful excursions, but I had more responsibility in leading and directing.

I stood looking at this pile of rocks. But it obviously was not just a pile of rocks. These were first century carved marble blocks, hundreds of pounds each, that had been transported over a hundred miles to the top of a mountain citadel.

This is the week most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions. Winter feels long. The dreary sky, wet salty roads, and short days get to us. We lose motivation. It’s not that we just quit. We peter out.

In “Tale of Two Cities”, Charles Dickens tells the story of a physician who was imprisoned in a French penitentiary for twenty years. Unable to practice medicine, he took up the trade of shoe cobbler while incarcerated, making and fixing shoes for his fellow inmates.

I am told that standing at the South Pole is like being in the eye of a hurricane––deceivingly calm. The quietness seems inconsistent with the fact that most of the earth’s wind originate from there.

The late Ray Stedman told the story of a Jewish friend named Arthur Katz. Early in life he became a committed Marxist.

They often are not. Not that long ago, I visited a couple of locations where television programs were regularly filmed for the History Channel. I was surprised both times.

There are a lot of Christians who say, “No.” And there was a time when I agreed with them. I had heard their arguments…Halloween was the devil’s holiday, it celebrates demons, and it was entirely of pagan origin. I feel bad that when my kids were little, they didn’t go trick-or-treating.

Two weeks ago it was attitude. Last week was altitude. This week it's atmosphere, and knowing the conditions along your route.

My friend and flying partner, Mike Charewicz once said to me, “Altitude is your friend,”