By Selwyn Duke
If you’re old enough to remember
the days when freak shows were in carnivals and not daytime television, you may
know about the barker and the shill. These were carnival employees who both
worked to entice customers into entering the mysterious realm of the sideshow,
only, their methods were very different. The barker – the correct terminology
is the “talker” – was a P.T. Barnum-like character, a bold salesman who sang
the praises of the exhibits. Although he was given to the hyperbole of
marketing, he made no bones about his agenda: He wanted your business.
By Selwyn Duke
For you religio-centric clods who haven’t yet expanded your
celebratory horizons – and you know who you are – I bring a message of
tolerance and inclusiveness: December 26 marks the start of Kwanzaa.
Selwyn Duke
Liberals we are and though we eschew its reason,
Capitalize we will on the "Winter Break Season."
It's good for making money and for spoiling offspring,
But mention the Son and from the gallows you'll swing.
By Selwyn Duke
If I had faith just the size of a mustard seed,
Mountains would move at my command,
And my walk with God would be as on concrete,
And not the unsure footing of sand.
By Selwyn Duke
Abraham Lincoln once said, "I know that God is always on the side of right; my concern is not whether God is on our side but whether or not we are on God’s side." Most who believe in God — and even many of those who see Him as being just a symbol — like to think that they are marching hand in hand with Him when promoting that for which they have passion. But Lincoln’s point is well taken, for I have noticed that this group of people can be divided into two sub-groups: Those who want to be on God’s side, and those who want God on theirs.
By Selwyn Duke
I bound out of bed in eager anticipation of the start of the day.
No one had to tell me to set the alarm last night — it's the only time
I don't mind rising early. It's the mid 1970s, and for me it's the
days of Lego blocks and Tinker Toys, Estes model rockets and action
figures (and no, in the boy world you don't call them dolls!). My life
is relatively simple; to me, the biggest problems on this earth are
homework, the occasional bully and an always skimpy defense budget (you
don't raise an armed force of hundreds of toy soldiers, ships, planes
and forts from nothing, you know). My greatest ambitions are winning
the next battle on the living room floor and saving enough money to
buy that ever elusive but oh-so-cool radio control plane I pine after.
