Writing from the Heart with Brian
Think, Laugh, & Cry Each Day
When I was a kid and would complain to my mom that I was bored, she would threaten to put me to work cleaning the dishes or weeding the garden. She would inevitably tell me to go play outside. If it was raining, her fallback was always the same answer: go play with my brothers... Continue Reading →
I grew up in a beautiful rural area. When I was 17-years-old and felt depressed or claustrophobic growing up in my rural home, I would go for a drive. I would drive past beautiful Amish and non-Amish farms. I would drive past little churches with tall steeples. I would cut through the valley where I... Continue Reading →
I’m usually the fool in my family — the challenge with living with four incredibly smart and passionate people — but one year I was determined to change things. My youngest son had been a little flip with my wife and I on submitting an excuse for a school absence. He wasn’t disrespectful, but at... Continue Reading →
Last year, when I suggested to my youngest son, who was still in high school at the time, that I might get my emergency certification and become a substitute teacher, he laughed. I’m not talking about a “yea, right laugh” full of sarcasm, I’m talking about a full-blown belly laugh like it was the best... Continue Reading →
In my last job, I had an hour-long commute. On a really bad day, the commute could take up to an hour-and-a-half. I took some back roads but the closer I got to work, the more congested and the tougher the drive got. The job came with its share of stressors too. Okay, it came... Continue Reading →
Life can be hard. Some days you're rolling along, running fine and feeling like you're hitting on all cylinders, and then all of a sudden, the next minute life can leave you stranded along the side of deserted highway in the middle of nowhere. Demands, deadlines, bills, and everything in between can drive you crazy.... Continue Reading →
There are certain television lines that come back easily from my childhood. Jimmie Walker’s famous line “Dy-no-mite!” from the show Good Times, which I knew before I ever saw an actual episode, because Walker’s face was plastered across magazines like Tiger Beat and Teen, ranks as one of the earliest. Ricky Ricardo, played by Desi Arnaz,... Continue Reading →
I walked into the classroom and sat down. I was early, class wouldn’t start for another twenty minutes, so I pulled out my schedule. I had a busy semester and needed something light. A friend had suggested Religious Studies 101 with a particular professor. He claimed that it was an easy A. I just needed... Continue Reading →
When I saw that Thornton Wilder’s play “Our Town” debuted on Broadway on this day in 1938, I sat back in my chair. A swirl of memories from high school in the mid 1980s came to mind. I read Our Town for the first time in English class and remember being amazed. I had never... Continue Reading →
Writing from the Heart with Brian 
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