James Nugent

People fear putting the reason and or faith to a test because it seems to intolerable for there to be ambiguity in our world view....

Kayaking like most extreme sports is potentially fatal. The hazards are too numerous to list here. However, with proper instruction and equipment the hazards can be minimalized. This book is not meant to be any kind of instruction. It is only a general discussion....

The Scripture said something like, “pray always.” It was a strange concept. How could a person pray all the minutes of the day? It was a bit of a mystery to me which I would not resolve for another 25 years....

This book is a slice of my life. In most ways my life has been rather normal, and in a few ways, it has been extraordinary. I figure I am in the last two decades of my life....

What follows is a frank discussion about the Catholic view of sin....

I went down to the West Bay Marina and viewed the mess which my boat had become. Eight months ago, it was jammed full of belongings which I couldn't store at my new home....

This little booklet is an attempt to illuminate the Catholic Christian way of facing pain and transform it into a useful and productive time in life....

In the fall of 2015 I saw an advertisement on the Port of Olympia web site. It was looking for volunteers to serve on the Olympia Harbor Patrol. In exchange for a year commitment....

I was a counselor in private practice for 22 years. It was only after I retired from service, that I began to really understand how much pain the family and friends of a mentally disordered persons may really suffer. In the fall of 2014, a friend ended up being involuntary committed for a...

I sat down on the living room sofa and took a bite of some homemade pie. I had gathered the sweet and tart blackberries last summer and was now enjoying a pie that only cost a dollar to make. Then I remembered to say prayer of thanksgiving and bowed my head. I often remember to say a brief...

No survival kit can guarantee one's survival. However, if one were to gather these very portable items and carry them whenever they leave the sidewalk, their odds of surviving an emergency would be greatly increased...

When devout Catholics marry, they marry for life. They promise each other and God that they will not enter into another marriage until one of them dies....

It took the full six weeks for us to move. I took 33 Ford Focus carloads and four full pickup trucks to move all our stuff to our new apartment. I also sent seven pickup trucks to the junk man and numerous carloads of stuff to neighbors and friends. This is the story of a very physically...

I do suggest you use this short story as food for thought. Even one new idea can make all the difference....

Perhaps thousands of beginning writers every year get discouraged and never write or publish their first book....

I have spent decades trying to get closer to God. Since I was 20 years old; I have been aware of our loving God longing to be with us....

In the beginning I used to let my Protestant friends off the hook. They would bash Catholicism while I would say nothing....

Sometimes it is prudent to give up. I was paddling hard with the wind and waves coming across my port bow. The storm had calmed down a bit and I was making a mile long mad dash from The Evergreen State College Beach to Young Cove. To the right inside Young Cove was my lagoon and my Madrona tree...

Kayaking at night has its rewards and hazards. I have noticed that when you master a sport, you eventually want to challenge yourself. Sooner or later you end up doing it at night. This has happened to me for many years, in many areas of my life. For example, I have been scuba diving, flying...

In January 2014 I stumbled upon an announcement that the South Sound Estuary Association was looking for volunteer beach naturalist. For $50 I would receive training in beach ecosystems and marine biology. In return I was expected to provide 15 hours of volunteer service to the general public on...