Eleven years ago, on July 26, 2014, my dear ol’ Dad, whose sense of humor and passion for making others laugh carried him through life, hopped on his flight for heaven. Clark Lindsay Christlieb, who played basketball and football and ran track in high school in St. Paul, Minnesota, gave melanoma a great race twice … More Marking 2 anniversaries: Missing Dad, 11 years after he got his wings, and 10 years to the day later, my unwelcome PE

Kay and I made a whirlwind trip to the Houston area Thursday for a couple of those emotional, affirming events that bring so much meaning and fulfillment to life. The purpose of our trip was twofold. Our first stop was Klein United Methodist Church in Spring, where I attended a celebration of life for Adam … More A down-and-back trip to celebrate a life well lived, then to share time with a family that has meant so much in my life

My remarkable friend Karl Bowman and I, who’ve known each other only a little over 4 years, text each other pretty often to see how we’re doing. He’s a wide-open book and sends long texts to catch me up on what’s been going on in his life and find out how my family and I … More Have I ever told you about my cool friend Karl? He has the most amazing dreams. How I wish this were a dream too.

We all experience life-changing moments, hopefully many more positive – weddings, childbirth, getting that new job we’ve always longed for – than the not-so-memorable ones. One of my best of the best happened 20 years ago, on June 11, 2005. That’s the day I became part of a new family – well, not new but … More With a grateful heart, celebrating the 20-year anniversary of joining my new (old) family

Friday afternoon at Highland Park Presbyterian in Dallas, a packed sanctuary celebrated the life of Joel Thornton, a loving father, husband, son, brother, uncle, friend to countless many, and both friend and top-notch newspaper colleague to scores of us for years. We celebrated Joel’s intelligence and knowledge, his sense of humor, his love of Nebraska … More Celebrating the life of Joel Thornton, a newspaper man of many talents, big laughs and love for his family

When we lose family, dear friends or friends who are also colleagues and they’re younger than we are, it can be both shattering and confusing. We can’t understand why these things happen so tragically and cruelly. But they do, whether through an accident or health reasons. Despite the remarkable advances we’re making in medicine, there … More In heaven with the best seats for Kansas hoops and Nebraska football, Joel will always be ‘Boss’ to me

Since I had to work all day, my 64th birthday Friday didn’t offer all that much excitement. My UT Southwestern Medical Center teammates treated me to a fun outing after work Thursday at Community Beer next to our office at Pegasus Park in Dallas. We do have some family plans today (Saturday). But I’m gonna … More A birthday video chat with my birth family siblings (one of whom shares my special day), and a sweet sister serenade