Articles written by Randy Vaughan

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About me - Randy Vaughan

As it says on the back of my book, I'm just a working man with no college education. I've lived all my now fifty-five years of national obscurity here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia, content to be a salmon swimming upstream. The bears in

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Religion & Spirituality > Bible Study How is the Old Testament relevant today: 3 of 21
Whether we're discussing the Old or New Testament, the Bible does indeed have relevance for every single person on this planet. You'll not find one other book that has everything between two covers. There's action and adventure, love and passion, violence and war and bloodshed, murder and suicide, incest and adultery, poetry ... More..
Creative Writing > Memoirs Memoirs: Death of a loved one: 27 of 115
my mom never told me that she loved meLike a setting in a Gothic horror novel, the bloated gray clouds race overhead, forced along by the howling winter wind. But the only ghosts lingering here among the cold marble monuments and barren trees are memories. And these rattle their tin cups against invisible bars deep inside my ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Politics (Other) Predicting political beliefs among America's middle class: 2 of 7
The three most dangerous words ever penned were "We the people...." A relative handful of prominent men took it upon themselves to speak on behalf of an entire nation-wannabe and, if memory serves, most of the folks at the time weren't all that eager to have a war with Great Britain. And when the smoke and dust settled and th... More..
Business > Management Ethics To what extent does the Bible influence business ethics?: 4 of 12
The short answer to the question is the Bible has no influence whatsoever regarding ethics in business. I'm sure it's been around a while, but it wasn't until the mid-nineties I heard "He who has the gold, rules." When coming from the lips of working people, it carries the resigned tone of inevitability, that the wealthy do i... More..
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: Self-reflection: 138 of 372
In the spring of '01, I was driving a big-truck, an eighteen-wheeler. I'd been driving most of this one particular night, heading westbound to the customer's facility in Indiana. I was almost there as the sun began to rise and if you've never seen a cloudless sunrise though the side-view mirrors of a big-truck, you're missing... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Bible Study Your favorite verse in the Bible, and what it means to you: 97 of 252
Asking what someone's favorite passage is can be tricky. It's very much like asking what is your favorite movie, or book, without allowing one to consider the "genre". Or maybe more like asking which of your three children you like the best. I have all sorts of "favorite" passages, but each seems to "fit" for a different reas... More..
Creative Writing > Essays Essays: Why I write: 129 of 254
Long before I ever wrote anything for anyone else, excluding the obvious homework assignments and love letters, I've often wondered what the real core of a writer really is. I mean, why? Why does anyone think anything he/she has to say is worthy of anyone else's time and attention? As far as fiction is concerned, most plots c... More..
Jobs & Careers > Office Politics What to do if you are exploited by your employer: 4 of 7
"If" you are exploited? If? It's a given that employment IS exploitation these days, at least for most of us. Under the golden calf of "laissez faire" capitalism, we have a private sector that's pretty much free to keep wages as low as possible and prices artificially and unnecessarily high. We all just learned what a huge jo... More..
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: What do you want to be when you grow up: 56 of 95
If I may, I'd like to take the easy way and respond with the entirety of Chapter 8 from my book titled "The Maniacal Laughter of the Damned: Why you can live and work in the real world without making a deal with the Devil":Every question has four ingredients: The person asking, the person being asked, the relationship between... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Economy Competition, not government regulation, is the best way to protect consumers: 3 of 5
Competition? What "competition"?For as long as breath remains in this wee-body, I never again want anyone in this country to talk about "laissez-faire capitalism," the "free-market economy," or how great and wonderful is the idea of "competition." Working folks have been complaining for ages about, okay, just about everything... More..