Life can knock you down. The day-to-day struggles can make you feel less than whole. We all hit these struggles from time to time. I seem to have hit my share lately, nothing big in the grand scheme of things, but still very annoying and even a bit disappointing. In situations like this, my perfectionist... Continue Reading →
Crazy man or Introvert?
When I visit my mother's apartment, she likes to introduce me to her friends and neighbors. You can tell that she boasts about my brothers and me. They always smile, reach out for my hand to hold it in theirs, and ask which son I am: the one that lives ten minutes away; the one... Continue Reading →
The Thousand Steps Trail: My annual check-up
I hiked the Thousand Steps Trail near Mount Union often over the years. I hiked it as a teenager with friends. A few years later, I hiked the trail with some friends from college and when we got to the top of mountain we shared a couple of warm beers. I even hiked the trail... Continue Reading →
Turning 50!
When I look in the mirror in the morning, I see a young kid looking back at me. I wipe the steam from the mirror and a recent college graduate, in the big city, off on his own for the first time, stares back at me. He looks younger. I don’t see quite the same... Continue Reading →
Journalism 101: Just the facts
The guy looked like a used car salesman in his jacket and tie and large binder, but his bulky linebacker frame, the rapid movement of his eyes, his mess of fiery red hair, and waving arms gave the impression of a crazed lunatic. He stalked back and forth in front of the receptionist’s desk and... Continue Reading →
My advice for a new parent: Don’t blink
My coworker had a mental block, she couldn’t come up with the right word that she wanted to communicate. She kept snapping her fingers like the act would help bring out whatever was on the tip of her tongue. We’ve all had moments like that—God knows I have had more than my share where I've... Continue Reading →
Picking up after Agnes
Forty-six years ago, Hurricane Agnes started out as a tropical depression in the Caribbean Sea. The depression began slowly on June 14, 1972, and started building up steam, first becoming Tropical Storm Agnes, before finally turning into a full-blown hurricane. The hurricane hit landfall near Panama City, Florida five days later on June 19 and... Continue Reading →
When life is crummy, look for the hope
When I was young, I wasn’t very confident. I was the quiet kid who was glued to a book or things that I knew like sports. I preferred hanging out in small groups instead of loud, large ones, so when a kid in my class told me that he wanted to partner with me on... Continue Reading →
First world problems, minor irritations
When I was a kid in elementary school, the lunch lady used to lecture my friends and I about wasting food. She would tell us that little kids in China or some third world country we had never heard of were going to bed with an empty stomach and we were throwing away perfectly good... Continue Reading →

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