At “seventeen,” many of them are truly “going under,” exposed to and drowning in situations no one should be made to face at that age. Stories of abuse, neglect, poverty, hopelessness, depression, suicidal aspirations, and recklessness with sexuality, drugs, and alcohol are not uncommon.
Category Archives: Musings
Hazing or Horseplay?
There are few things I find more repulsive than deliberate cruelty. I don’t claim to have been or to be a saint. I’m sure I’ve behaved in a manner that came off as cruel to others at various points in my life. However, if I have, those incidents were the results of immaturity, ignorance, or misunderstanding, not deliberate cruelty, which is exactly and only what hazing amounts to.
What’s It About?
It’s not sexy, but sacrifice as a path that leads to redemption is a theme that runs throughout the novel. It’s a path that a number of major characters in the novel must choose either to walk or to take the easier route that provides less resistance but no redemption.
OhGo and Help Somebody
The volunteers we “work” with are some of the most humble, kind, and generous people I have ever known, and even though I don’t even know most of their last names, I count them among my dearest friends and favorite people in the world.
What You Wear
Obviously, the fear I felt for my son wasn’t one-millionth of that which the parents I mentioned in the previous paragraph must experience daily. However, that one-millionth shook me to my core. It was MY son being threatened for simply adopting MY favorite team as his own when he was a daddy-pleasing little boy.
The Fourth Quarter
If I’m fortunate enough to match my father’s eighty years lived, I’m about to begin my personal fourth quarter, and I want to make sure that my final minutes do not tick away without my knuckling down and making the most of every second.
Printer’s Ink
So you can keep your Merlin, your Gandalf, your Harry Potter. You will never conince me that the greatest white magic wielding wizards the world’s ever seen weren’t my grandfather, aunts and uncles, and father, or that the most powerful magic wand in the world is not a pen.
“Did You Really Need to Cry?”
In the end, the world would be a better place if we could all cry without embarrassment or reservation and experience another’s tears without discomfort or judgement.
Sandusky: Embrace Our Diversity
The still-to-be-fully-tapped-into beauty and strength of the Sandusky community should be its diversity (racial, ethnic, religious, sexual orientation, etc.), but to fully realize that beauty and strength will require the majority of us to be willing to visit places, attend events, and seek out folks unlike ourselves with open minds and open hearts.
You Got To Have a Code!
What follows is a list of a few of the more trivial precepts found in my code for living. Most of them are arbitrary and some a bit silly, and most I do or don’t do without a whole lot of thought required.
Ty Roth 