BackboneAmerica

I am of Scottish and Danish stock: what could be sterner stuff? Yes, Braveheart and Norsemen. My people made Europe (more…)

Marshall Fritz of the Alliance for the Separation of School and State is one of the most effective freedom advocates and brilliantly buoyant human beings I’ve ever known. (more…)

I’ve found that when a thread of conversation has developed, some patients have surprised themselves by realizing they’ve actually had a good time at the dental office. (more…)

Sunday on Backbone Radio, again as in years past, we observed Easter by playing five minutes from a classic sermon (more…)

“Be who you are, use what you have, do what you can.” Russ Oberlin stopped me at a recent political meeting to pass along (more…)

Have you ever spent the night outside in the Colorado mountains, in the heart of winter, at 12,000 feet, in a furious blizzard? (more…)

President Ronald Reagan’s first Christmas message, dated Dec. 24, 1981, said in part: “The Nativity story of twenty centuries ago is known by all faiths as a hymn to the brotherhood of man. Through a generous heavenly Father’s (more…)

In our family, Patricia Gordon was exactly that, through
more than nine decades until her passing last month.

Memorial services for my wife’s mother were held on April 19 at St. James Presbyterian Church in Littleton, Colorado. Rev. Wayne Darbonne officiated. Here are my eulogy and several tributes by other family members. Scroll down to read the contributions of Christina Andrews, Jennifer Andrews, Melanie D’Evelyn, and Tom D’Evelyn, or enter their names in the search block, above right. (more…)

By Matt Dunn (matt.dunn@codydental.com)

When I’d heard that a tornado had passed through Holly, Colorado last week, cutting a 300-yard wide swath through the center of town, I wondered if my grandfather’s former home might have been spared. The next day’s photos in the Rocky Mountain News, sitting in the reception area of my dental office, showed that it had not been. (more…)

By John Andrews (andrewsjk@aol.com)

Too late? No, it’s still early. The story is far from over. That’s the good news for a weary world, as Jesus’ followers once again commemorate his crucifixion and resurrection at Passover time two millenia ago. Time and again in this greatest of all dramas, the early returns were overturned. Think about it: (more…)

By Melanie Harmon (harmon.melanie@gmail.com)

Editor’s Note: Melanie Harmon, a new contributor, submitted this piece Monday on Lincoln’s birthday. I met her as a DU undergrad when she testified in the Senate about radical faculty infringing academic freedom at Metro State, her former school. She later founded DU’s conservative student paper, Common Sense, and worked on the Holtzman for Governor campaign, before graduating in spring 2006. Welcome, Melanie – JA

Like most recent college graduates, I busted out of my cap and gown ready to conquer my next life experience: the real world. Four days after graduation, I moved to Washington, D.C. with two suitcases and lofty visions of what my life would be, post-University of Denver.

I chose our nation’s capital because I wanted to continue the conservative activism of my previous four years. I would be serving my country and the state of Colorado while sticking to the principles I knew to be good and right: personal and fiscal responsibility, little government interference, faith in God and faith in the American people.

Five months into my cross-country, real world experience, those lofty visions were promptly pulled back down to earth. The November elections taught me Lesson No. 1 of living in the real world: that life is chock-full of disappointments. (more…)

By Krista Kafer (krista555@msn.com)

Oppressive heat and lack of sleep soften the edges of consciousness and blur the colors of memory. I have dreamy impressions of the four days I spent in Turkey this month, bordered on either side by the hard lines of travel. Together with four other Americans – one international expert and his wife, a retired educator; an education expert; and a representative from a higher education council – I arrived in Istanbul after four flights and little sleep. (more…)

By Brian Ochsner baochsner@aol.com

Well, what do you know. I just talked to a guy, my uncle’s brother, who went to the World’s Fair held in Chicago back in 1933 and got to see a prototype of a television set – about 20 years before they were mass produced. You learn that kind of thing over the holidays, and this recent Christmas was one of the best ever. Gifts and food were in abundance, and it was good to spend time reconnecting with family and friends. Along with the witness to prehistoric TV, I also discovered a cousin of mine has been on an outdoors program on ESPN. Ryan’s an avid fly fisherman and conservationist (not an environmental wacko). He’s also a skilled talker, and likes to argue his point to anyone who will debate him. The folks at Senator Conrad Burns’ office (R-MT) thought he argued a little too forcefully, and threw him out. (more…)