From Evel Knievel stunt bikes and Pong to life-sized monster trucks, 300-foot roller coasters, and 28 mph e-bikes—a look at why today’s hyper-engineered toys make me drool with pure nostalgia envy.
Drooling With Envy at Today’s Toys
Carving My Own Path
Watching my father turn rough wood into detailed sculptures with a pocketknife taught me the art of patience. I never mastered his sharp tools, but I found my own chisel in the pen—carving out words to find my voice and build my world.
What an Old Flannel Shirt Taught Me About Forgiveness
A simple request from my wife to borrow a flannel shirt sent me down a hallway of memory. Flannel was my father's uniform through every high and low of his life. Looking at his old shirt hanging in my closet reminds me that people are complicated, messy, and full of grace if we choose to see it.
Running out of gas
(A version of this story first appeared on June 21, 2023 on The Heart of The Matter.) My sons were both excited, my daughter a bit less, but she was being a good sport. They wanted to see the waterfalls. Our kids were all relatively young and we had billed up the falls and our... Continue Reading →
The Longest Thirty Minutes
A heart-stopping moment on a crowded beach taught me about panic, but it took becoming a father twenty-five years later to truly understand the ghosts that haunt our parents—and how quickly routine can turn to chaos.
Goldilocks and the XL Bucket of Kettle Corn
A quick mission to buy a bucket of kettle corn on the Bethany Beach boardwalk turned into an exercise in optical illusions and $35 worth of decision-making regret. Here is how Goldilocks in flip-flops accidentally bought a 10-gallon drum of popcorn—and how nine people finished it in 24 hours.
Why Are We So Bad at Vacation?
There’s the churning stomach. "If I can just get to Friday evening." I have the classic 1981 Loverboy song "Working for the Weekend" playing on a loop in my head. But then there’s also the excitement. "Time away to relax and chill." Vacation time is a funny thing in the U.S. We take work entirely too seriously,... Continue Reading →
The Cupboard is Bare (And We’re Doing Fine)
When our kids were young, my wife and I ran nonstop. In the evening, she packed the lunches for the next day while I supervised bath time and made sure they "cleaned behind their ears." It was a crazy, hectic time. It was only when the last book was read and they were tucked three... Continue Reading →
Yo, Cuz! You’re Killing Me!
Historical legend is an interesting thing. I wrote a couple of weeks ago about how we don't actually know a lot about Betsy Ross, but traditional American lore has it that she created the first U.S. Flag. Check out my post - Betsy Ross and the Three Moochers (Why the Flag Has 5-Pointed Stars). Now, here... Continue Reading →
Writing from the Heart with Brian 
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