Stories from the ridgeline
Reflections on fatherhood, faith, healing, leadership, adventure, and the spaces between expectation and reality.
August 21, 2025
The Canyon Isn’t Silent Grief is a canyon. Wide, but not quiet. Every sound, every memory, every doubt ricochets off the walls and returns in a different form. What starts as a whisper of sadness can come back as a roar of regret. What we thought we left behind suddenly sounds like it’s still ahead. […]
August 11, 2025
The Search for Something Sacred When I was in high school, I was a Boy Scout. One summer at camp, a few friends and I decided we were going to do something bold. Something that felt half adventurous and half forbidden. We were going to try and find an old Indian burial ground. It was […]
August 2, 2025
Let Curiosity Lead the Way Some birthdays are like ridgeline pauses: quiet, reflective, a moment to take in the view. Others feel like full-on jungle treks: chaotic, electric, and alive with riddles you never saw coming. This year? It was the jungle. After a slow morning with Gracie wandering the Denver Art Museum, where brushstrokes […]
July 15, 2025
At the edge of Harpers Ferry, where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers entwine, I once stood with admiration and something stirring in my chest. The sun shimmered off the water like a whispered promise. Two distinct rivers, each with their own origin, power, and path, converged into one. That moment felt sacred. As I sat […]
July 10, 2025
Some Storms You Don’t See Coming We had barely made it through the gates of Busch Gardens when the skies turned. The kids and I had planned for a day packed with thrill rides, laughter, and all the sugary snacks. But within 45 minutes, thunder rolled in and the rides shut down. Still hopeful, we […]
July 7, 2025
Somewhere Between the Plans When navigating presence, promises, and parenting, there’s a quiet moment that comes after disappointment. It hangs in the air like fog on a ridge line; thin, but heavy enough to obscure the way forward. That’s where we found ourselves the other night. My daughter had made plans to go to the […]
June 26, 2013
I recently read an interview with Jack Johnson, the heavyweight boxing champion of the world from 1908-1915. In discussing how the sport has changed, he said something simple and profound. Some of the greatest fighters of all time didn’t last because they could punch the hardest; but because they knew how to take a punch.
It’s all about the stance Johnson said, the positioning of your feet: “Front foot pointed forward, rear foot pointed out at an angle.” This stance gave fighters perfect balance, and control. The fighters who could take a hit, and still stand, would prevail; because once you are thrown off balance, your opponent gains the upper hand.
