I missed the cut. I could cry my eyes out or to steal a cliché, I could get back up on the horse and try again. I was in my mid 20s and I was applying for a newspaper reporter position back in Pennsylvania. My fiancé, now my wife, and I were in Northern Virginia... Continue Reading →
Feeling like an imposter
I hit the restart button. My laptop screen quickly dimmed to black and started the process of rebooting. I turned my smartphone over to see the time and reflexively looked at my watch, as if the two actions combined would miraculously speed up the laptop reboot. I was going to be late to my 9... Continue Reading →
Keeping track of life’s unwritten rules
In Major League Baseball, when you hit a homerun, you keep your head down and take your base. No showboating. No “look at me, look how special I am” bat flips. No showing up the pitcher or the other team or you’re likely to get a 95-mph fastball aimed at your ear the next time... Continue Reading →
Sticking up for myself
I stormed up to my bigger and stronger teammate and told him that he may have had an out-of-this-world batting swing and ranked as one of the best players on our baseball team, but he should stop bullying everyone. The rest of us didn’t appreciate his behavior. My teammates, seeing my bravery and courage, of... Continue Reading →
One man’s dream
On a hot August day in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. gave a short 17-minute speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial calling for civil and economic rights and an end to racism. He painted a picture of a vibrant, new world. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of... Continue Reading →
Your turn!
One response: the blog stinks. A second response: No, no, move over Elon Musk and your newest electric car, the blog is the best thing since sliced bread. I take a different approach today. In particular, I’m looking for feedback. This blog is the best thing you've read in the past ten years or it... Continue Reading →
Whatever happened to Shop Class?
The whirling jigsaw cut through the wood like a sharp knife slicing through butter, sending dust and wood chips through the air. The shop teacher watched me closely with a blank stare, but he left me in control of everything. My father had a similar saw at home, but he didn’t like us kids using... Continue Reading →
Fighting my stutter
The teacher stood over me like an angry giant. Looking back now I’m guessing that he couldn’t have been more 5’8 or 5’9 tall and probably had just graduated from college, but to me the substitute teacher held a position of authority, looked pleased to catch his prey out of the classroom, and like he... Continue Reading →
Too many books, too little time
The young girl’s eyes bulged out of their sockets looking all around the store. Her head was on swivel looking right, then left, and then back again. She let out a huge smile. She couldn’t believe her good fortune. When she saw that the bookstore had a second floor, her smile stretched even further and... Continue Reading →

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