THE JOKE

When I was young, the Universe seemed much smaller than it does today. There was the Sun, the Moon, and a lot of stars in the nighttime sky that I assumed God had placed there to block the view of the Heavenly home, where He and His Son Jesus lived. I imagined it to be…

REMEMBERING THE ELEVEN

In 1984 I was awarded the Purple Heart by U.S. Congressman Henry B. Gonzales in San Antonio, Texas. I was not given it in 1968 after I was wounded because Operation Mallard Duck was a suicide mission and I was not supposed to be rescued. I was the last survivor off the field and although…

TEL AND ME

The Venerable Duch Tel with Wayne Dale Matthysse October 2024 We were both renegades of sorts… non-conformists to different belief systems that at the time were being challenged by the HIV and AIDS epidemic that was taking the lives of so many Khmer citizens, back in the early 2000s. Duch Tel was a subordinate Buddhist…

DECISIONS

Sorry for the silence these past couple of months but decisions at my age are not easy to make. I have missed Cambodia very much but because of my health was not sure that I could return, especially with the changes that have occurred in the Wat Opot Community. My health has improved and I…

LIFE IS ETERNAL

Lovable is not a word one would use to describe Chhang … and he was well aware of that. At one time, before the sores started, his looks were a little more tolerable but he never did gain weight in his lifetime, and having AIDS was something he could not hide from others. Too weak…

SELF-FULFILLING PROPHESY

I haven’t thought about self-fulfilling prophesies for some time now, even though I have had my suspicions that many of the major experiences in my Life could have come about because I thought about them beforehand. A good example of this would be my Vietnam experience.  Before I enlisted in the Navy back in 1966,…

REFLECTIONS

I have a feeling,That in the end of time as we now know it, When all things are revealed in their completeness,We will discover,That the only differences between us, Were… like the spectrum of light,That radiates from a perfectly cut diamond, The subtle variations in how each of us manifested,The many Reflections of GOD. It…

TRUTH

To search for Truth beyond Oneself, Will only cause despair. No book contains the answers, No guide can lead you there. Created in His Image, Our hearts contain the Key. Learn to Love Yourself, And from doubt, you will be freed. I have had conversations with friends who are still stuck in Christianity. They are…

FURTHER ALONG

I attended a Christian church service a while back… a rare occasion for me, unless I am visiting with foster children (now adults) whom I once took care of in Honduras. Many of them are now very active in Christianity and some are even pastors of their own congregations.  It was a good experience and…

THE WELL-KNOWN STRANGER

He comes and goes as he pleases and works behind the scenes. Most times we are not even aware of his presence until he is ready to steal another from us. The children may become restless or the dogs bark more than usual in the night… but we choose to ignore these things… for to…