Author: maryanncrum

    After being married for nearly 39 years, I’ve finally discovered how to get my husband to listen to whatever incredibly important thing I’m trying to tell him. If I want Joe’s full attention, all I have to do is lead with, “I used your toothbrush.”    I experienced the power of these magic words… Continue reading God Wants Our Attention

  I was recently in a group where a man was talking about being under some pressure at work to participate in a charity fundraiser that would require him to run a mile in high heels. He wasn’t excited about this.  For starters, he seriously doubted he could find a pair of women’s shoes big enough… Continue reading Not Trading My Girl Badge

   Never underestimate the potential importance of wearing a belt.   I learned that lesson many years ago, while working at a college in Indiana, when I accompanied the university president and other school officials to the home of two elderly brothers who were donating big bucks to the school. My job was to snap some… Continue reading Keep Your Belt On

   While the world was focused on the death of rock star Prince, a truly great woman slipped quietly from this life to the next in a simple house out in the country between Abbeville and Anderson.   You didn’t see any highlight reels of her life on TV newscasts. No crowds gathered to light candles… Continue reading A Life That Packed a Punch

   Spring is in the air … so medical appointments are on my calendar.   It just works out that way, although it seems ironic. Just when everything is springing back to life, I’m forced to turn my attention to the depressing prospect of cancer as my annual screenings for melanoma and esophageal cancer roll around. … Continue reading Beating the Boogeyman

   Ever see one of those nature documentaries about freaky-looking creatures that dwell in deep caves or oceans and never see daylight? Some don’t have any eyes at all; others have eyes that serve no purpose.   Spending too much time in the dark obviously isn’t healthy, and that’s why I’m currently trying to achieve a… Continue reading We Can Know Too Much

   I recently read about an elderly lady who was asked to recite her favorite Bible verse.   “And it came to pass,” she replied.     The person asking was confused and said, “But that doesn’t mean anything.”    “Yes, it does,” the woman explained. “I know that when a trial comes, it doesn’t come to stay; it… Continue reading Jesus Isn’t a Passing Fad

   My husband can’t wait until self-driving cars are available and affordable for normal people. He envisions us shuffling into a car that chauffeurs us hither and yon in our golden years.    Me? Not so much. I’m having a hard time cozying up to the idea of allowing a computer to drive my car… Continue reading God’s a Better Driver

By the time you read this, the South Carolina primaries will be history, but as I write, I’m supposed to cast my vote in just a few hours and I’m still not sure who to vote for. I feel this awful pressure, like it all depends on me and my one measly vote. I know that sounds… Continue reading It’s Not All on Me

   Let’s play a little game. I’ll give you some actual advertising copy from 1950s magazines, and you try to guess the products being advertised. Ready? Let’s go …    “This is the (thing) that makes eating at your house something to remember.”    Okay, guess what made eating memorable in 1957?    “Spam Cakes,”… Continue reading What’s the Truth?