By dswrites ~ H ello, all. This is Daniel Sanchez (a long-time friend of Jason Blue's and author of the post " The 'A' Word "). I just wanted to introduce myself. I would never enter a room in real life and just start talking without permission or invite, and certainly didn't want to do it here. So let me introduce myself. English: Bexar County Courthouse, San Antonio, Texas (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I am 44 years old, husband to a wonderful wife who shares my non-theist outlook, father to two girls: a college sophomore studying psychology at Loyola University and a thirteen year-old who is, well, busy being thirteen. My heritage is Spanish. My ancestors came from Madrid and settled in Bexar county ( San Antonio ) Texas . My "inheritance," if you can call it that, it that I am the first-born male of a Baptist preaching family. My father is a professor of missions at a seminary. My brother is a missionary. My grandfather pastored a chur...

By dswrites ~ T rue story: When I was 15 years old, I bought my first car. I bought it with my own money - every cent of it. I mowed laws, played rock band gigs, babysat—anything to earn money for my car. I had a car before I had a driver's license. It was a 1975 Mustang II . I spent $99 to have a car shop paint it red and spent $19 buying leather dye and changed the half-leather top to black. I loved that car. I still had it as I went to college. During the winter break, my dad generously said he would pay to get the engine tuned up so I would have it in great working order for my second semester. My college was in a small town 13 hours north of our home, so it was not only a long drive, but without a running car I would have no life at school. So it was important. Dad had a Spanish-speaking friend of his from church do the repairs, and I stood there as the mechanic explained to Dad (in Spanish) what he did and how what it cost, etc. Probably some other stuff, but my gras...