Post Archive


Here you can find every post from Jack's Journal, even the ones I've hidden! 

Publishing my first book was a ton of work, and I had a steep learning curve as I steadily marched towards the launch date...Here are my top 10 lessons learned from this first publishing journey

What a week it has been. Well, a week and change since my last update. Time is moving fast as my Wayfarer expedition approaches, and I'm not near as ready on the website, Instagram, and YouTube side of things as I wanted to be.

What a few weeks it has been back in Texas.   To be honest, there's not much of an excuse not to have written a dispatch since the end of...

Poverty, true poverty, was a systemic issue on the international stage. There weren't rich forces at play controlling the world economy like some conspiracy theorists may have believed, but there were real problems out of an individual’s control that caused them to live in poverty. It wasn't simply a matter of moving or pulling yourself up by your bootstraps; when the average income for your country was 4,000 USD, getting out of a poverty-stricken world took more than sheer g

It is impossible to fully experience a new destination in just one or two days. Even the sleepiest of towns have more to offer in the way of exploring and atmosphere than just a couple of days' stay will provide. When we rush through new places in the name of "doing" the city or country, we often miss out on "experiencing" the city.

There is more to the religious angle than simply commitment to God in the face of an uncertain end of the night. There are lessons to draw from the corrida as an allegory for Christian life, from the written law to our behaviour in the face of social change.

The war has gone on for more than nineteen months, and resulted in tens of thousands of civilian casualties, mostly Palestinian. As of this writing, there is no end in sight, as neither side is willing to budge on its war aims or political objectives.

It's almost time to leave Tulum. In just a few days, I will board my American Airlines flight out of the city for the last time for a long time. Tulum is my home away from home. I've made friends here, learned to relax in the cenotes, fell in love with diving, and used its coffee shops to kickstart my writing endeavours.

I'm just a week away from heading back to the United States from Tulum, Mexico. Honestly, I'm ready to head out. Not necessarily to head...

Before I left home, I never realised just how many little things I took for granted. I’m not talking about cultural differences; I'm talking about the practical stuff: drinkable tap water, air conditioning that works, toilets that flush. They say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, but I never understood just how much I had until I found myself sleeping in a stagnant room with no fan, no power, no working Wi-Fi, wondering how to ask for directions in a language I di

People ask me all the time why I travel. It's not a cut-and-dry answer nor a sound-bite. My reasons are diverse and personal, at the same time simple and difficult to explain. Yet, people look up to me as a seasoned traveller, and many times have sought my input or assistance on starting their own journeys. My advice is always the same: have a why.

Therein lies the element of faith. Did Jesus really feed 5,000 people with just five loaves and two fish? Did John really preach and die in Ephesus? Is Christianity truly superior to Hellenism? The truth is, we don’t really know and likely never will. Archaeology and history are soft sciences, and without a time machine, we can only make an assessment of what actually happened. But I answered those questions with some of my own.

Our hike started on dirt farm roads where local villagers tilled their fields and built their homes. That part of the hike was hot under the Cambodian sun. The French couples burned quickly under its oppressive rays. They hadn't heeded the warning to cover their shoulders, wear long pants, and wear proper shoes instead of sandals. I, on the other hand, was roasting by the time we reached the jungle. Hot and sweaty, but fortunately not burned.

It has been a slow week. That's been the case since I finished writing and editing my book. I've spent a lot of time sitting around watching Hulu and YouTube. I hate being lazy like that, but I'm also keeping an eye on my daily budget. I have plans for the future that require some extra money. That's not a complaint; it is just the reality of the situation.

Prisoners from the front were moved to the Risiera, interrogated, and transported elsewhere for their wartime internment. Not all of them made it, however, as prisoners who died under torture or who were deemed undesirable to Nazi authorities were cremated on site. When the Allies invaded Italy, the Nazis retreated, destroying the crematorium and other parts of the Risiera in the process. Like the death camps, there could be no evidence of their crimes for Allies to find.

The vast majority of Iraq lived in relative peace. Militant factions remained, but they were in the minority and largely focused on opposing the Western military presence rather than targeting international tourists.

I am an American, and I fell in love with tauromaquia...

It seems the perfect day to launch my new column - Dispatches. Today is a day of reflection, celebration, and positivity, not just in terms of faith, but life.

There are few places I feel at home these days. Home has taken on a different meaning for me since I started my travel journey. The Sahara is one of those places. From the Atlas to the Tenere, Morocco to Egypt, Ribats to Cathedrals, the Nile to the Niger, the Sahara is a place that makes sense to me, welcomes me in, and provides a refuge that few back home can understand.