Sterling Griggs

My friend Austin Macemore went to see a specialist at Duke University yesterday and the news he received was not good, at least not from man's standards. It appears that cancer has spread into his lungs and, according to the doctor, there is nothing they can do to remove it or stop it. The only option on the table for Austin is a drug that helps to slow down the spread of the cancer. They don't know a definite timetable - they guess 1-2 years - but it could be a whole lot longer. What did Austin do when he heard the news? He told the doctor, "I'm ready to go ahead and take the medicine you talked about so I can get on with my life." He then pumped his fist and bumped knuckles with his dad, Wayne. Are you kidding me? He really did that? Yes he did. You would be mistaken if you thought this kind of news was not devastating on many levels. To be sure, Austin and his family don't want this. There have been tears shed and there will be more in the future. No ...

There is a saying that goes something like this: "Opinions are like dirty feet - everyone has them and most of them stink." If you breathing right now then you too have an opinion about something, whether it's about politics, football, or who makes the best hamburgers. On the surface, opinions aren't bad. Without opinions we'd have nothing but a bunch of wishy-washy people who could never make up their mind about anything. Yet we all know how bad things can quickly go when opinions get tossed around too freely as they most often do. Social media has helped to spur the avalanche of opinions from all corners of the globe, turning message boards and blogs into verbal bloodbaths. When like-minded people gather together that can lead to a time of edification and growth in the sharing of similar opinions. But more often than not, opinions are used as daggers to cut rather than as instruments to heal. So is it okay to have an opinion? Of course it is. Without opinio...

Almost 2 decades ago I entered the hospital for what was undoubtedly the beginning of the hardest few months of my life. I was born with a heart defect - my aortic valve was "leaky" - and at the tender age of 26 it was time to replace it. After lengthy open heart surgery and several days of in-hospital recovery, I returned home for what was months of rehabilitation. My first goal was being able to walk a mile which turned into a couple of miles which then became 10 miles a day. Then I wanted to run, so I did. In fact, a little over two months after my surgery I ran in a 5K race. The reason I was able to do this was because my heart was now "fixed" which allowed it to beat efficiently for the first time in my life. No more getting winded quickly or overdoing it with basic tasks. My heart was finally strong. I have good friend who is in the hospital right now, but it's not for his heart. Austin Macemore is struggling with cancer and has since he was just a bo...

Well it's Wednesday and we're all still alive. Whether or not your guy or girl won last night in whatever race you had your eyes on, life goes on. And for those who have threatened to move to Canada or some tropical island every four years, start packing. But on a more serious note, now that we know who our president, senators, congressmen and women, governors, etc., will be for the next few years, it's time for me to reflect forward on a few things that have recently come to pass in this election and a few things I'd like to see happen. Colorado and Washington legalized recreational marijuana use. I'm not really sure how this is going to work out but you can probably bet that if this does turn out to benefit those who just want the right to toke, then the populations in these states could likely boom off the charts. Talk about tax revenue! One observation I have is this: I guess it's okay to ban cigarette smoking but totally acceptable to embrace pot smo...

If you received a check for $10,000 in the mail today, how thankful would you be? I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure you would be able to hear me hootin' and hollerin' from miles away. Now what if you opened your mailbox and inside was a $5 check. How excited would you be? Imagine going to the doctor and being told the news: You have cancer. After months of radiation and chemotherapy, your doctor tells you that you are in remission. How incredibly awesome would that be! But what if you were suffering from a simple cold, and after a weekend on the couch sipping hot soup and cuddling under blankets you were all better by Monday? Would you blog, Tweet, or Facebook the news to everyone? Being thankful is a funny thing. It is super easy to be thankful when the "big" stuff happens in our lives. When a check comes in the mail to help pay the bills, the doctors declares you free of cancer, or you get a new job, thankfulness is a no-brainer. But it se...