My wife is a special education teacher and sometimes pulls me into her world. Talk about a fish out of water. Oh I listen when my wife talks about her job and I've had my own educational experiences, but I'm most definitely in unfamiliar waters. So you can imagine my thoughts when she asked me... Continue Reading →
Miles to go before I sleep
American Poet Robert Frost wrote "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" in June 1922 at his Vermont home after an all-night writing session. The poem first appeared in print in The New Republic on March 7, 1923, before appearing in his Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, New Hampshire, later that year. The poem describes a traveler in a horse-drawn... Continue Reading →
The reward of stepping back
My natural reaction sets in. I want to jump in and get results. I want to take charge. I want to give a few directions and solve the problem, large or small. If need be, I want to throw good old hard work and some elbow grease at the problem to make it go away.... Continue Reading →
Taking an ax to hypocrisy
I pulled the ax over my head and thrust it down hard on the large log in front of me. Thwack! I took another swing. Thwack! And another and another. When I was in high school, I worked several summers on a small farm. The farmer hired me to do odd jobs like mowing his... Continue Reading →
I’m back!
For better or worse, I'm back. I had a busy two week break. Here's what I learned (or was reminded) on my blogging vacation. --Life goes on. Good or bad, it goes on. You can’t stop time. --Life is simple. We make it complicated. Or is this just me? --Your worth isn't your output. You... Continue Reading →
Lowly sarcasm!
I'm a strange sort. I'm attracted to sarcasm. I love to use words that mean the opposite of their literal meaning to mock or be humorous. Most people use sarcasm to criticize or insult. I'm not a fan of that. Instead, I use it as “gallows humor” to point out the crazy situations that I... Continue Reading →
Meeting my Hero!
I met a hero of mine. The often quoted advice is that you should never meet your heroes, lest you be disappointed. I met a hero of mine a few months ago and he was kind and caring and better than expected. He reminded me that "not all heroes wear capes" and that we have... Continue Reading →
No talking back!
(The original version of this story ran in September 2022. I've made several updates.) I walked away with tears streaming down my face. I couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old. I turned around to try my case before the judge and jury one more time, but my mom had enough of... Continue Reading →
Politics and Power
The movie The American President was released on this date thirty years ago. For my money, it’s the best movie made about the presidency. There have been others that have touched on politics and power including Dave (1993), Dr. Strangelove (1964), All the President's Men (1976), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). But I... Continue Reading →

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