Steve Massey

He loves me. He loves me not. We need not pull petals from a flower to answer the question, “Does God love me?”

It is perhaps the most powerful expression of the human spirit. In its absence, there is anxiety, depression, fear, discontent.

Some say it’s his first big mistake. To me, it’s a refreshing step in the right direction.

Without contrast, life gets pretty boring. I learned this as a youngster shortly after my parents gave me a tiny, black-and-white television set for Christmas one year.

Don’t believe the lie that faith has no place in government or politics. In an election year, it’s politically correct to pretend that matters of faith and matters of public policy should somehow be kept separate.

There’s an upside to America’s financial mess. No, I’m not suggesting that a $700 billion government bailout of ailing financial institutions is a good thing. Nor is the resulting depletion of Americans’ retirement portfolios, a deflated U.S. dollar, or the all-around gloomy economic forecast.

Fresh start. Clean slate. Second chance. Whatever we might call it, most of us relish the promise of a new beginning.

The worst part is the uncertainty. Will the test come back confirming cancer? Will the layoffs involve me? Did I flunk the test, or somehow squeak by?

No one likes to be told "no." You readers keep reminding me of this.

I n the spirit of the season, here's one last pop quiz for our graduates:

Emptiness usually is not a good thing. An empty stomach. An empty gas tank. An empty promise.

You don't have to go through it alone. Life, that is.

It delighted me to bump into a good friend recently, but I puzzled over his failure to introduce the man standing next to him. As my friend and I chatted about what we'd been up to in the weeks since we'd last seen each other, his buddy just stood there, awkwardly listening and smiling.

Do you think we'd all fit in a time capsule? Let me explain the question: When I was a kid, the nation's bicentennial prompted grade schools all over the country to bury time capsules stuffed with items that would remind us what our culture was like in the year 1976.

Your life was probably busier this past week as you got ready for Christmas. You were in good company. Most of us had similar to-do lists: go to office party, drive to mall, wait for parking spot, shop for last-minute gifts, stand in line, finish putting up decorations, wrap last-minute gifts, call relatives, bake cookies, fret over bills incurred from last-minute shopping.

Tired of leftovers yet? Let's see. There's turkey sandwiches, turkey tetrazzini, turkey rice casserole, turkey a la king, turkey pot pie and, of course, turkey noodle soup.

From the bottom looking up, it seemed so easy. A two-mile hike along a meandering, wooded path tempted my sense of adventure.

"Promise Keepers 1995 - Raise the Standard." It was the kind of Christian gathering I might have avoided a few years back, afraid of the inevitable collision with my own hypocrisy. Besides, a bunch of men getting together to share personal experiences, cry, even hug one another - in Seattle's venerable Kingdome, no less - just didn't sound like a great weekend to me.

Sig Sigarini worked at Gulf for more than 40 years. Now, in failing health, he faces the prospect of his medical benefits being cut. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

(From For the Record, Tuesday, June 6, 1995): A French exploration team helped recover sunken artifacts from the Titanic. Its role was incorrectly reported in Monday's paper. 1. (Color) Stuck with a mess Workers lay sod in Smelterville, Idaho, where nearly every yard has to be dug up and replaced because of mining contamination. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Smelter smokestacks loom over the playground in Smelterville, Idaho. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 3. Graham Ferguson Lacey has lunch at a Washington, D.C., restaurant in 1993. Photo by Marty Katz/ Special to The Spokesman-Review

(photo of Anne Hellemons) Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Jack King says mine contamination is undermining Shoshone County's future. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

1. Landscape wears scars of bankruptcy. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Executive perks included a visit to David John Rowland's yacht in the French Riviera. 3. Most of the lawns of Smelterville homes have been replaced in the Superfund cleanup. Residents still have limits on how deep they can dig in their yards to avoid disturbing lead-contaminated soil. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

'What a terrible waste' Opal Taylor reflects on the career of her late husband, in photo, who spent 23 years working for Bunker Hill. She continues to fight Gulf for his benefits. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review