Road Rookie: A Dilettante’s Journey from New York to Dallas – Pt. II: Hamlin Beach State Park, NY

In the fall of 2011, against my better judgment and with no prior experience, I attempted to ride a motorcycle from a dairy farm in Upstate New York back to my home in Dallas, Texas. This is the long-winded account of that trip in easy-to-digest line segments. For earlier portions, go here: part 1

Uncle Dick and I woke at the same time. I made breakfast for both of us: a few eggs, bacon and toast with margarine. How a veteran dairy farmer ever permitted himself to buy margarine, I will never know. As we sipped weak coffee, Uncle Dick asked me a few questions about the trip, how long it would take, what kind of route I had planned. I was hoping for a kind of folksy confidence from him, but with every question, he would pause to look up at me with a paternal worry. There is nothing quite as sobering as having your dread validated. Meanwhile, the motorcycle I still had not seen sat in the adjacent shed.

Tebowing Orthodoxy

Tim Tebow’s decision to cancel his April 28 appearance at First Baptist Dallas, due in large part to senior pastor Robert Jeffress’ controversial public statements, is generating a lot of dialogue. Some of that conversation is about what constitutes orthodoxy in the Christian Church, worldwide, irrespective of denomination.