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Happy New Year from the Lavender-Mulkey Clan!
Well, another year has passed, and what a year it’s been. It will be intriguing to see what 2017 will bring. In the meantime, Shonnie, Gracelyn and I want to share what we’ve been up to in 2016. And, if you’re willing, we’d like to hear what’s going on in your life, too.
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Talking the 2016 post-election blues
On a warm Texas morning on Wednesday, November 3, 1948, I remember my mom, Sue Mulkey, a life-long Democrat, gleefully asking our next-door neighbor, “Well, how do you like our new president?” Defying the predictions of almost every pundit and pollster, President Harry Truman, who had succeeded to the presidency when FDR died, had won…
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Donald Trump’s hyper-masculine facade
One might think that Donald Trump is brimming with high self-esteem. He is not. What Donald Trump demonstrates is pseudo-self-esteem. He unconsciously hides his fears, insecurities, and self-doubt behind a façade of hyper-masculinity, aggressiveness, belligerence, and hostility.
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The Family Dance
It was Saturday, and that meant pizza and homemade ice cream night at the Lavender-Mulkey home. And, as frequently happens, it was time for a family dance.
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It’s In Every One Of Us
For your viewing pleasure on International Day of Peace.
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In the wake of 9/11 how will we choose to be?
I wrote this op-ed for the September 15, 2001 edition of the Asheville Citizen-Times. As you read this my wife, Shonnie, will finally be home. That will never be said again for thousands of our fellow citizens. I sit here by myself early Thursday morning. Over the past two days, I have moved from shock…

