The No Kool-Aid Zone Blog

I Don't Drink The Kool-Aid. For Anybody.

A Tribute to my Dad, on the Occasion of his 90th Birthday

By Byron / June 12, 2023 /

I was probably five or six years old when I began the practice of what became my first regularly-repeated prayer. I would often be awakened by the sound of my Dad firing up his company (City of Roanoke) car, before it was light, to head off to another day of work, and each time I…

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Leaving the Church over Roe?

By Byron / June 30, 2022 /

A friend recently shared with me a piece of correspondence he had had with a young lady whom he had known since childhood. In her note to him, she shared her anger and frustration with the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, and one of the things she said and reiterated is something I’ve heard…

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Of “Stolen Elections” and Christian Witness

By Byron / April 25, 2021 /

A few weeks back, I surprised my wife with a trip to New Orleans, a trip made even more exciting by the arrival, from Colorado, of her sister and brother-in-law. The Big Easy was fun; been there now, done that, no need to really go back. I had engaged in this small conspiracy for a…

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60 Years of Blessings

By Byron / September 9, 2020 /

Today, I turn 60 years of age. Just writing that seems surreal. I know, “60 is the new 40”, but wow. Just…wow. And that’s all I have to say about thaaaa-aat. I decided that the best way I could celebrate would be to “count my blessings”, in the words of the old hymn; to “name…

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The Most Important Vote I Will Cast this Year…

By Byron / September 3, 2020 /

does not involve deciding between presidential candidates. I want to begin this piece with two truths that seem obvious to me. I say the first one first because when you read the second one, you may be tempted to doubt that I am serious about the first one. So the first one is this: you…

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