Hope Springs Eternal

Omar Aleman
10 Jul 2024
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hope

“A college diploma doesn’t stop a bullet.” That was one of my “go to” comments many years ago when interviewing candidates who were seeking a federal agent position and who felt aptly qualified due to their academic excellence. Although the “proud” owner of three separate sheepskins myself, it became very obvious early in my career that if I desired to remain alive, it would be best not to put much credibility on thesis. As a young Criminology student I was taught the theory of phrenology, whereby certain bumps present on a person’s skull could dictate a penchant for wrongdoing. Also […]

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Heaven Can Wait

Omar Aleman
7 May 2024
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heaven

Ken Harrison is a distinguished Boston area sculptor who is involved in a horrific car accident which leaves him completely paralyzed. He can no longer work with his hands, walk, feed himself or perform any activities that have any semblance of a normal existence. He is tortured by his very active mind, his dreams are stunted, his passions are a thing of the past and he will be under constant medical care until his demise. He wants to end his life but is physically unable to commit suicide in the hospital, so he requests to be released, only to receive […]

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Middle Men

Omar Aleman
7 Mar 2024
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What is wrong with being adventurous at the age of 23? Throw caution to the wind, I said, and so I did. And in doing so, the breadth of my life choices was diminished. I felt invigorated that February morning waking up in a downtown Chicago hotel after experiencing a snowfall for the first time in my life as we landed in Minneapolis the previous evening. The meeting was planned at a site five blocks away from my accommodations, so a choice had to be made; take a taxi… or be brave and walk to the location with garments not […]

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middlemen

Are You Carrying a Concealed Weapon?

Omar Aleman
13 Feb 2024
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weapon

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something in your life.” “If you are going through hell, keep going.” “Victory at all costs, victory in spite of terror, victory however long and hard the road may be.” The World War II Allied Forces were led by talented, experienced and war savvy military officers like MacArthur, Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, Portal and De Gaulle, among others. In my estimation, however, the lynchpin of this massive war effort was the enigmatic statesman, soldier and strategist Winston Churchill, the originator of the above-mentioned quotes. An imperfect man, known for his drinking […]

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New Year’s Solution

Omar Aleman
7 Jan 2024
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The late Walter Matthau acted in or produced 62 movies in his 45-year career. These included “A Face in the Crowd”, “Hello, Dolly”, “The Sunshine Boys” and “Fortune Cookie”, with which he won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor. A man of multiple talents, he is best known in his later years for work such as “Grumpy Old Men”, “The Odd Couple” and “Dennis the Menace”, in which he played a curmudgeonly, cantankerous, ill-tempered sourpuss. For many of us, the movie that encapsulated this carefully crafted persona was “The Bad News Bears”, where he became Morris Buttermaker, an alcoholic […]

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solution

Out With The Old, In With The New

Omar Aleman
19 Dec 2023
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Adam and Eve were rooted out of the Garden, Cain was booted from his land and Noah’s descendants scooted out of Babel when God confused their language. Abram scooted from his country when God promised to make his descendants a great nation, Hagar and Ishmael were booted out of the family home with the arrival of Isaac, and Lot was rooted out of Sodom prior to its destruction. Exile was at the heart of these events, and these encompass less than half of the first book of the Bible. From old to new Forced absence from one’s country or home […]

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God Doesn’t Move Parked Cars

Omar Aleman
22 Nov 2023
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While bringing the church service message at the Homestead Speedway on October 22nd prior to the NASCAR race, it struck me how appropriate it was to “bring God to the track.” For openers, as believers we have a defined start/finish line. He determined our arrival, and only He knows the “qualifying time” towards our finish line here on earth. Downshifting and accelerating are an integral part of both the vehicle and the spiritual race. It is imperative to have a competent crew, our “cloud of witnesses,” as we traverse through the deafening noise of society on our way to eternal […]

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On The Run

Omar Aleman
12 Sep 2023
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Paul Harvey’s voice and delivery were exceptional, not to mention the mandatory ending to his daily broadcast. I take monthly license with these articles by utilizing his familiar format; a personal experience followed by a weaving tale until we get to “the end of the story.” And today will be more of the same. Run in the relay There I was in the afternoon gym class prepared to give it all for the team. The coach had broken us into four groups of four for a relay race only available to the swiftest. We were running dead last as I […]

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