Commotion in the Pews

This Easter season, I am presenting the Gospel of John. John tells the story of resurrection better than the others, and so it is logical to present his version of Christ as the focus is on the miracles, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

So, without further ado, the Gospel of John: Chapter 5.

I appreciate your coming to visit. I truly do. I ask but small favors:

First, pray for me. I am always in need of prayer.

Second, consider buying one of my audio books, as they are the source of funding for this website. 

High Jingo begins with a young couple in love “spelunking” in a cave that isn’t really a cave, but an abandoned mineshaft, a relic of a Gold Rush that wasn’t really a “rush” but more of a Gold Kerfuffle that never materialized. The couple is assisted by a beer-loving husky dog which eschews the normal protocols of an archaeological dig and willy-nilly unearths an artifact with Hebrew letters on it. And the reader thinks, “This is not your every-day story!”

And that reader is correct. Once again, three generations of the Wilder Bunch take us on an historical, occasionally hysterical, adventure. The story is as old as pogroms in Eastern Europe and as new as Jewish students being abused by pro-terrorist elements paying full tuition even at 4th rate diploma mills. A ripping yarn, full of love, courage and righteous anger, it careens from Medieval Hungary to Israel to a small rural town in Minnesota and up the road to St. Paul. As the old movie line goes, “Fasten your seatbelts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

It’s the busy season, but what a delight that the third book of Summer 2024 is now available. SIMPLE GRIFTS by Max Cossack is a fun book to say the least. I have read every one of Max’s works, and was honored to be allowed to record this book. (I’ll be doing more in the coming months.) If you haven’t read/listened to any of his books, start today: he’s brilliant.

Here’s the summary:

Professor Soren Pafko has made a life and career out of lying, conniving, manipulating, and abusing everyone in his path. So far, it’s working great: he’s Chair of his College’s Department of Comparative Literature; he’s leader of the local chapter of the Democratic Communists of America; and when he wants to cheat on his wife, he’s got his pick of women who think he’s the second coming of Che Guevara. In short, his life is peachy. But when he flunks local yokel Gus Dropo’s teenage son for a politically incorrect classroom comment, everything in Professor Pafko’s world begins to go hilariously wrong.

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This Easter season, I am presenting the Gospel of John. John tells the story of resurrection better than the others, and so it is logical to present his version of Christ as the focus is on the miracles, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

So, without further ado, the Gospel of John: Chapter 3.

I appreciate your coming to visit. I truly do. I ask but small favors:

First, pray for me. I am always in need of prayer.

Second, consider purchasing some of my audio books to fund this work!

WISDOM FROM THE BATCAVE by Rabbi Cary Friedman 

I am willing to bet you’ve never considered the theological and moral imperatives that drive The Batman to do what he does. Well, thankfully, Cary Friedman has done just that and written a book on the topic.

Want to be a hero?

Many people don’t know where to start on their quest to be a hero. They watch Batman and gain inspiration, but don’t know where to go from there. How can you save the world without knowing 127 forms of martial arts?

The truth is you don’t need to dodge bullets or drive a batmobile to be a hero. Wisdom from the Batcave analyzes the life philosophy that emerges from Batman comic books and shows how anyone can live a heroic life by following Batman’s philosophy.

In 18 lighthearted chapters (such as “How to Triumph over Adversity,” “The Value of Inspiring Others,” “A Better Definition of Victory”), the Batman’s example is used to teach profound truths. Focusing on relationships with self, others, and the larger community, Wisdom from the Batcave uses the experience of the Batman and his allies to illustrate how to live a super, heroic life.

Here is your invitation to enter the Batcave and learn from the personal example of the Batman himself.

SUB TALES 4 by Charles Hood and Frank Hood

I am honored to have narrated all 4 of the Sub Tales books to date, and hope to knock out Sub Tales 5 before February 2026. (Full schedule, a true blessing!) These are great books, and I’ve been on some of the subs in the book for “road trips” to different places we won’t talk about. It allows me to be very authentic about narrating the work, as I can literally smell what they’re talking about and see it before my eyes in most cases.

Sub Tales 4 is the latest offering by brothers Charles and Frank Hood in their prolific output of nonfiction books about the US Submarine Force. Like the three volumes preceding it in the series, Sub Tales 4 offers a detailed recounting of some of the most pivotal and poignant moments in the rich history of the Silent Service. Arranged as an anthology of individual short stories, the book covers many subjects with prose, photographs, maps, schematics, and other illustrations to complement the narrative.

Written over the last year, Sub Tales 4 benefits editorially from the knowledgeable input of three submarine veterans—Keith Weitemeyer, John Donaldson, and Greg Scott—who painstakingly reviewed all chapters and offered valuable feedback during the composition process. Many story ideas were supplied by followers of the authors’ Facebook group, “Poopie Suits & Cowboy Boots”, and many vexing questions about some vital piece of esoterica were often posed and answered very quickly using that format. Our books incorporate that “wiki” approach to yield both accurate and engrossing stories that are certain to inform you more deeply.

Specific topics addressed in Sub Tales 4 include the inspiring life story of Charles Lockwood, a key figure in US submarine success during World War II; the serendipitous role of the USS Nautilus during the Battle of Midway; the submarine that carried gold and silver to safety during World War II; Richard Nixon’s relationship with Hyman Rickover, and their memorable overnight cruise aboard the USS Cincinnati; the mysterious and remote lake in Idaho where the Navy performs some of its most robust acoustic research; the story of the deep-diving USS Dolphin; the nuts and bolts of the submarine maneuvering watch; Ronald Reagan’s screen turn as a submarine captain; and many more.

This Easter season I’d like to share the Good News with all of you.

The Gospel of John tells the story of resurrection better than the others, and so it is logical to present his version of Christ as the focus is on the miracles, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

So, without further ado, the Gospel of John: Chapter 1.

I appreciate your coming to visit. I truly do. I ask but small favors:

First, pray for me. I am always in need of prayer.

Secondly, I’d ask you to consider purchasing some of my audio books if you like the style here. I submit the following two for today:

Sometimes a town chooses you.

Looking for Space is a story of triumph over adversity for one boy growing up in a small town, and an intimate look at how the community embraced a newcomer and helped him find his way.

When Charles lost his father at age ten, he was uprooted from everything familiar and eventually moved to Pickens, South Carolina—a place he barely knew, yet one that would come to define him. In the foothills of the Blue Ridge, among red clay fields and close-knit neighbors, he began the long work of healing and becoming.

It is also a tender portrait of how a Southern town can shape a life. The rhythms of 1970s Pickens—its public schools, church pews, football games, and front porches—offered not just comfort, but direction.

Alongside his personal journey, Charles opens a wider lens to reflect on the region’s natural beauty, cultural traditions, and the local figures who helped define Pickens County’s identity. The result is both an intimate memoir and a tribute to the quiet strength of place.

Rooted in gratitude, Looking for Space is a love letter to a town that still knows the value of showing up for one another.

LION OF THE SEVEN SEAS by MICHAEL DIMERCURIO

In the aftermath of a vicious sea battle with the Chinese fleet that ends in a nuclear blast, the presidential project submarine Silversides is dispatched on a search-and-destroy mission against the resurrected submarine Panther, recently converted by the Iranians to fire hypersonic electrical grid-killer missiles at the U.S. East Coast.

Anthony Pacino, the Silversides’ chief engineer, is forced to abandon his mourning the loss of the love of his life and driven to fight to the death for his country, the mission and the crew. Returning also are the rich characters of the Silversides and former admiral and current Vice President Michael Pacino in this epic tale of undersea warfare.