ROBERT COELLO

“Mom why are you cutting the turkey in half and throwing it away?”. “Oh, hey sweetie. I didn’t even hear you come in”. “Yeah, I just woke up. I was standing in the doorway watching you and then realizing that you do this every year, so I thought to ask you”? “Well, the short answer ( Janie rolls her eyes and chuckles because she knows that with mom, there is no such thing as a short answer) is that it’s what I always saw your gramma do.    It’s the way I was raised. Just like you are aware of the many different customs in our family? Most of them have just been passed on from generation to generation.

For instance, oh there I go babbling again instead of just answering your question. It’s the way we were raised, you know, actually talking. We didn’t have text, instant gram, Facebook or chat-snap like all you kids, so we talked a lot, a lot! Oh, how quickly I regress my sweet child. So, ok, where was I? Oh yeah, gramma would cut the turkey in half, season it and then put it in the oven...

   As soon as the train left the station I knew, somehow, deep in my craw that I was not supposed to be a passenger. All the sudden I would feel the swoosh, and the blank look would once again emerge reminding me of yet another Deja vu. I would run at breakneck speed to the last car to look out of the back window, still considering jumping off, but then carefully calculating the cost. It was always more than I could afford or willing to spend.

   “It’s just too late, I’m stuck, again, on this god awful loco-motive for another excursion".

     Caught in a crossfire of good and evil thoughts, desiring so desperately to do the right thing, but the current is much too strong and wave after wave send you plummeting straight into the proverbial rocks. The Romans-Seven-Syndrome inevitably strikes again.

     I spent many a night in cheap hotels pacing the floors, trying to make sense of the devastation I had just created at home. How does this keep happening? What is wrong with me, that I ...

“And in this corner, Southwest Wrestling Federations undisputed champion, weighing in at 210 lbs. Born and raised in Cajun Country, where he first began wrestling with alligators deep in the swamps of Louisiana, the one, the only Billy ‘Trosclair’ Hebert.”

A deafening roar emerges from the dilapidated arena. Which stands to reason since it’s been quite some time since their hometown hero went head to head throughout the current wrestling season.

But today's match is by no means an ordinary match. Turns out a few months back the Starfish Group, LLC had somehow, and only God knows why acquired an ape! Yes, a Gorillala! An eight hundred lb beast of a primate! I’ll spare you the details and keep to the script.

It was common knowledge in the Parish that Gary, the owner was a bit “throwd off”,as the locals would say. Cajun jargon perhaps? Anyhow, rumor had it that this ol cajunboy was bent on finding an opponent to take on his prized primate. As if there would be anyone in their right min...

“Don’t look now, but the shift is about to hit the fan”. It utterly amazes me how one simple small letter can change everything, right? How it’s subtlety can completely alter the effect of how we examine information.

Let’s take this title for instance. As you scrolled through, eyes darting back and forth, up and down, you are taking in and dissecting more information than the most advanced sophisticated computers on the planet.

If we were truly aware of this phenomenon, I believe we would be overwhelmed to the point that we may consider really limiting what we allow our eyes to focus on. Hmmm, I’ll leave that one right there.....

I’m not a betting man, but I would venture to say that your mind struggled, if only for a nanosecond when your eyes fell upon this title. Why? Because somewhere in your past you shifted into a way of perceiving this word and anchored a negative belief around it.

The word “shit” in the English language for me, sits on the lower rungs of the ladder, not rank...

“Folks, we’ve just hit our cruising altitude of 11,000 feet. I’ve turned off the seat-belt light, which means you are now free to move about the cabin. However, for your own safety, please fasten it when you are seated, in case we encounter any unexpected turbulence, or I jerk the stick back and forth”.

Anyone who has ever flown has been privy to the soothing DJ’esque vibrations that all the sudden fill the atmosphere after about 20 minutes into flight. You are acutely aware of this especially if you failed to go to the little girls or boys’ room, as you scurried to your gate passing two “restrooms”, signs and thinking to yourself, “oh heck, I’ll just go when I get in the plane”. Surprise!

“You are free to move about the cabin”. aaah… at that precise moment those are the most comforting words in the English language. Better than grammas fresh baked cookies or snow on a Christmas morning.

There is something magical and sensational. Something wonderful, that is produced in us when we ...

     She looks at her reflection in the mirror as she spins and swirls about, wondering who the new guests tonight might be? Certainly hoping that cute lieutenant will be there! Always ready and eager to dazzle the Kings chosen audience. After all, these are the moments a girl lives for right? All the painstaking rehearsals and sore bruised feet, pirouettes and step ball chains were certainly not in vain. "Oh that daddy so loves for me to dance and entertain. I must be the luckiest girl this side of Damascus".

     "Today is the day. Let me just give this sling a good strong tug to make sure its not frayed and end up costing me my own life. Dang, I know that Saul is going to insist that I put on his clunky armor and I'll also have to explain to my brothers what I've really been doing to protect our families sheep while they are eating the fat of the land. They have no idea nor do they probably care?  I'm more like their little red headed stepchild at best.  But today I'll show them al...

          "On your mark, get set, go!" The sound of the blank cartridge fired echoes across the entire stadium. "Looks like Obujinae and Kendrick are outta the race folks. That looks like it's gonna leave a mark and  I'm not talking bout just in the record books. How unfortunate for those two vets. Guess they will have to wait till next year's try outs". Screeches the raspy voice over the PA. None other than the legend himself, Hank Graft. He's old as dirt, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more loyal, knowledgeable, decent man that knows the art of "casting sports".  

          I remember when I was just a wee tadpole and Pop would bring me out to this old dinosaur of a stadium. It's a wonder it's still standing? Competition! It’s only been around for a gazillion years. Thumbing through old copies of national geographic the other day, I just happened to stumble across an article of an early sport played by the Mayans. They named it Pok-a-tok. Using a solid rubber ball which was ...

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

     It's supper time and all are seated. I picture Jesus looking around and counting heads. "Ok they're all here". He looks again to make sure Judas is there, otherwise "the plan", will not work. Although there was that nano-second that unbeknownst to His guests that He sighed and wished things could be different. But His heart even faster looked to heaven and whispered, "Father, Your will be done.”

     I feel secure with that conjecture, as a result of Him, the one and only sovereign God having been fully acquainted with every human emotion. But there is a tall order there that only Jesus himself could fulfill. Before dessert is served, seated there, fully man, fully God, the One that under His robe housed the power to create endless galaxies, universes, and could have swiftly and very easily annihilated the one known enemy seated there, clutching the money bag, was in a strategic way the “guest of honor". The catalyst, the one who would ensure this c...

“Holy Shift”

      The word of God is so truly profound. Each time I read it, it never fails that as I go from line by line suddenly, a certain passage feels like it jumps off of the page and into me, going down into the core of my being.

      Although I am somewhat aware of how Jesus dealt with the Pharisees, Sadducee’s, "Couldntbees and Wouldntbees", the dialogue in John 8 blew me away this morning because it starts out with Jesus speaking to "those Jews that had believed him".

      Jesus begins to teach them about the word and how "continuing", in it, would eventually qualify them to be His disciples. The truth would be known, and as a result they would be free.

To whatever this degree of “belief” they had in Jesus. it quickly began to fade away.

     These Jews apparently thought that they would engage into a quid pro quo, with this man  they thought they knew? They had no clue of the power, wisdom and discernment that was housed under His outer garment.

          Jesus is ...