'Heaven' tagged posts

This Is Paradise?

LightGramsFebruary 29, 2024Volume 28, Number 6 Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a vacation destination. In fact, it’s listed as one of the top ten destinations in the entire U.S. It is completely surrounded by the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, the most-visited National Park in the U.S. Gatlinburg, about two hours from where I live, is where…

Living The Dream

LightGramsJanuary 11, 2024Volume 28, Number 2 “How are you?” is a common question we ask one another. It sometimes is more of a formality than an actual inquiry into another’s well-being. Still, I’m always surprised to hear men at the prison I visit respond to that question with, “I’m living the dream.” For some reason…

The Only Passenger On Board

LightGramsJune 29, 2023Volume 27, Number 18 Phil Stringer was no different than the other passengers waiting to board a plane. The flight from Oklahoma City to Charlotte earlier this week was delayed, an announcement that no passenger wants to hear. By the time the flight was ready to board – 18 hours later! – all…

Guarded Treasures

LightGramsNovember 10, 2022Volume 26, Number 34 At a garage sale you purchase an old purse that caught your attention. As you examine it later you discover a baseball card tucked away inside. Further investigation reveals that this card, which is in near-mint condition, could be worth a great deal. So what do you do with…

More Than A Wishing Well

LightGrams August 13, 2020 Volume 24, Number 28 Visitors to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores quickly come to a beautiful display: a 30-foot high Smoky Mountain Waterfall. One can stand by the handrail and look down into the chasm below, imagining they are deep in the forests of Appalachia. Officials at the…

Unlocking The Gates

LightGrams June 4, 2020 Volume 24, Number 19 Jose has become a very popular person in Paris, France. His real identity was undisclosed at the time of the May 22 article carried on Yahoo News. He became popular because he picked the locks of the closed gates that were keeping people out of parks in…

My Place In The Book

LightGrams April 11, 2019 Volume 23, Number 14 Most have heard of the Guinness Book Of World Records. This annual publication has been around since 1951, and is now published in over 100 countries in 23 different languages. An article in Newsweek magazine (9/28/18) reports that Guinness has more than 40,000 records in their database,…