Sterling Griggs

When social media first came to my attention years ago, I made a decision that I would avoid political and controversial posts if at all possible. Of course, I wasn’t always successful early on, garnering my fair share of harsh responses and a few posts that I deleted after I went back and re-read some of my words which made me look like “one of those guys.” Life has been a lot easier using social media for nothing more than posting cute pictures and keeping up with what all of my virtual friends around the world are doing. Of course, it becomes harder and harder to peruse many of these sites because, more often than not, they are filled with nothing more than caustic opinions about politics and social issues. Yes, American politics is a hot mess and the media is nothing more than a feeding frenzy waiting to unearth the next savory morsel of ill repute that will hopefully doom another candidate or celebrity or turn an issue into a one-sided free for all. The funny thing about all of th...

" Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains; the loyal have disappeared from the human race...The wicked wander everywhere, and what is worthless is exalted by the human race. " - Psalm 12:1, 8 I love a good story. For years books have been my go-to if I want to lose myself in a thrilling plot twist or I simply wish to allow my mind to meander through deep wooded areas that are cut off from all civilization. Whoever said that it is easy to get lost in a book was not kidding. I somewhat lament that my kids don't enjoy reading as much as I do, however when they do find a book that captivates their imagination, I love to see how it invigorates their creativity and moves their souls. With all of the technology of today, books have not necessarily become passe - but they have been somewhat replaced by the visual medium of movies and television as the dominant storytellers of our time. This isn't such a bad thing, even though most people will admit that "the book is...

There are a couple of preset buttons on the radio in my car that I never push. These radio stations have been pre-progammed by my kids and, if I were to push one of these buttons, I would be inundated with "today's hits," which would result in me vomiting violently and quite possibly totaling my car. As one who grew up in the 1970's, survived the 1980's, and rejoiced over the musical revolution of the 1990's, I simply cannot stomach much of what passes for new music today. I had the pleasure of growing up in a time when music was made with real instruments being played by real people, not some digitized alt-recorded track that relies on computers to produce it. Yeah, I know, the electronic sounds of the 1980's want to refute my claim, but I don't count that as music. My first two real concerts were The Police and Bruce Springsteen, both of whom I saw when I was in middle school. My R.E.M. cassette tapes serenaded me to and from high school and I rem...

Orlando, FL, in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 12, 2016. 50 men and women dead in a club, all shot by the same gunman, and many more wounded. That information alone is enough to crush one's spirit. It did mine. Who goes out and senselessly guns down men and women like that in cold blood? When I heard the news and the massive amount of lives lost, it hit me to the core and I grieved and continue to grieve for those affected by this senseless act of violence. Oh how I wish that we could all see it that way, as a senseless act of violence committed by a man whose intention was nothing short of evil. Yet we are not allowed to see it that way, not in our politically correct world. By the way, whose idea was it to put the words "political" and "correct" together in the first place? Talk about an oxymoron! The victims were at a gay bar. They were all gay, thus it's a hate crime against the gay community. The shooter was a radical Islamist. H...