Author Archives: Philip E Jenks

January 12, 2020 – On 12 January 1968, I climbed aboard a chartered Boeing 707 and flew from Royal Air Force Station Lakenheath, England to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. In each of the 49 years since then, … Continue reading →

Updated January 19, 2021 By Philip E. Jenks Martin Luther King, Jr. would have been 92 this week. It is entirely appropriate that we have engraved his image on postage stamps and carved larger-than-life stone monuments to his memory. But … Continue reading →

By Philip E. Jenks My old editor always put it best. That’s because Walt Herring was a short-fused misanthrope with a nose for news and a talent for writing tabloid headlines. In other words, a natural-born editor. Walt is gone … Continue reading →

We resist in the name of Jesus, whose miraculous appearance on this rabid globe we anticipate this Advent season. What are we resisting? We resist all forms of racism and xenophobia, in the name of the One who reminded us … Continue reading →

By Philip E. Jenks November 10, 2016 – Wednesday, November 9, dawned gray and damp here in Port Chester. Just like the weather in Morrisville on November 23, 1963, the day after President Kennedy was killed. When JFK was blown … Continue reading →

David Brooks column on the Conservative Intellectual Crisis brings to mind two encounters with William F. Buckley, Jr. that suggest he engaged in dialogue with most anyone. Somewhere in the American Baptist communications archives are two letters from Buckley, one-line comments … Continue reading →

By Philip E. Jenks September 29, 2016 – The unexpected highlight of the first presidential debate of the 2016 season was Hillary Clinton’s response when Donald Trump unleashed a sniffily incoherent attack. “Okay!” she exclaimed, beaming. And she shimmied defiantly, knowing … Continue reading →

August 29, 2016 – I’m indebted to my brother Larry for posting a memory that has long been a precious item in our family’s reliquary. It’s a picture of Joe DiMaggio taken by our mother, Mary. If you missed him … Continue reading →

By Philip E. Jenks August 17, 2018 – Davy Crockett was born 232 years ago this Friday, August 17. His birthday was the first historical date I committed to memory, thanks entirely to Walt Disney’s 1954 miniseries, Davy Crockett, King … Continue reading →

By Philip E.Jenks July 27, 2016 – What I’m asking, not being skilled with social media abbreviations, is What Thorny Forebodings should we take seriously in the campaign of 2016? My greatest foreboding is that a majority of U.S. voters … Continue reading →