A New Chapter.

Click here to pre-order bread&cup: beyond simple food and drink. Tomorrow opens a new chapter in a story I never thought I would be writing. My first book goes public for pre-sale on Indiegogo, Tuesday, October 01.  I never thought I would write a book. But neither did I imagine the other changes in my …

Hope and Generosity

Sometimes when I’m sitting in my little room typing out my thoughts, I forget there is an audience out there actually reading what I’ve written. In the last week, a number of people have recently said this exact sentence to me, “I’ve been reading your blog.”   Whenever I see trends like this, I stop …

Hope and Despair

Does Hope have its limitations? It might seem like it to anyone who has had a loved one take their life.  Death is difficult enough on its own. When it is self-inflicted, it goes to a new level of pain. I’ve had a few friends who have taken that path.  All of them young. I …

Hope and Song

Hard to believe this song is 20 years old. Hope has been a burning subject of mine for even longer than this. Here’s a blast from the past when making music was my main love. Come to the Fountain I’m comin’ up slowly for air that I can’t breathe I’m drowning in the sea of …

Hope and Pain

Why is Desire so important to Hope? Isn’t my Desire the thing that gets me into the most trouble? Isn’t that why I want to eat too much, drink too much, sleep too much, or get angry too much? How can Desire have anything to do in helping me build my hope? This was once …

Hope and Desire

I’m in a challenging season right now.  I’m not the guy who has it figured out and looking to sell my online course to teach you how I succeeded in life. Just in the last month, I lost my job, my truck and am in the process of losing my wife to cancer.  My hand …

Choose Hope

I can’t say I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but I’ve known for a long time that I could write.  It’s only been in these mid-life years that the urge to write has increased to the point where I feel compelled, almost obsessed, to put words on a page.  It’s a feeling other writers …

WELCOME TO 55DEGREES.US

I’ve been writing my thoughts and chronicling my experiences as a chef and restaurateur for 12 years. I’m now adding a new theme of faith and belief that will be posted via email. If this interests you, subscribe via the link below. Subscribe to 55 Degrees

When Bad News Arrives

It’s the phone call you don’t want. Its the word you were dreading. It’s the situation you didn’t ask for but were just handed. You just got some bad news and you feel like you just got punched in the gut. Now what? We all have had our share of bad news. Some more extreme …