Author Archives: rogerbarbee

We all have ways that we remember dear folks who have died: Photographs of the deceased may sit on a piece of furniture or shelf or hang from a wall;  a cut flower or other small object may be placed in a book; a plant may occupy a place in a garden; the ways toContinue reading “The Sound Post”

When I first began working on the Close of the National Cathedral in 1995, a rather shabby looking building occupied a small space between the Cathedral and the school building in which I worked. There was a gravel parking between them that was used by school’s faculty, and the building was called The Carver’s Shed.Continue reading “The Last Carver”

There was a time when I thought 76 was old. But not today. I turn 76 and am blessed with good health, a fine wife, and full life, so 76 seems fine. But still, …. To explain: the first was William, my college roommate, who I always called Willie or Charlie. He died twenty-five yearsContinue reading “Seventy-Six”

Jesus and the Empire of God Warren Carter Cascade Books, 2021 Carter wastes no time in explaining his use of cultural intertextuality avenue for reading and studying the Gospels. He reminds us that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John composed while Rome ruled: “The empire does not disappear from the Gospels just because an emperor or Continue reading “The Gospels and Rome”

While reading some news reports concerning the diversion of water from the Mississippi River to the arid and drying up West, I thought of Wallace Stegner and his warnings about our misunderstanding and misuse of the arid region beyond the 98th Meridian. He wrote several books concerning our history of living in the arid West,Continue reading “Land with Little Rain”

David McCullough’s The American Spirit is a timely read. A 2017 collection of fifteen of his speeches covering several years and settings, it is timely because its sub-title, Who We Are and What We Stand For is a reminder that 2022 is a good time to re-examine our character. The selected speeches scan from 1989Continue reading ”            Dual Citizenship”

My first Frederick Buechner arrived this week;  Speak What We Feel (Not What We Ought to Say)  is his reflections on literature and faith. Now, I have always been a reader. Not a good student, it is my reading that helped me salvage my academic and intellectual self. Because of my reading I managed toContinue reading ”                                                                   My First Buechner”

The Lt. Governor of North Carolina, Mr. Mark Robinson, has written his autobiography, We Are the Majority: The Life and Passions of a Patriot, which will soon be available to the general public. While I have not read the autobiography, I trust the reports of it that I have read and am concerned about twoContinue reading “Mark Robinson’s Majority”

Many years ago a fellow member of a church I then attended gave me a small piece of paper. As he handed it to me, he said, “I’ve always tried to live this poem.” On the paper was printed “A Better Way”  below which were twelve lines of rhymed poetry. At the bottom of the Continue reading “Standing Corrected”

The pejorative phrase “Banana Republic” was used to describe a small, poor country that often relied on a single export or other limited natural resource. Such a country was usually governed by an authoritarian, corrupt regime. Such a regime often conspired with a foreign corporation for economic gain at its citizens’ peril. The phrase hasContinue reading “Senseless  Chatter about Clothing Chains”