I gulped down the last of my coffee. It was late in the day for me to be drinking coffee, but I had worked a full ten-hour day and still had five hours in the car until I reached my daughter’s campus. We’d probably grab some fast-food and then start our drive back home. My... Continue Reading →
Bigger, better, stronger
When I was a gawky kid, whenever I brought home my report card, if I had a B, I immediately wanted a A. If I had a A, I wanted an A-plus. When I ran cross country in high school, if I cut 15 seconds off my 5k time, I wanted to run the exact... Continue Reading →
Learning from failure
The teacher walked up and down the aisle handing out magic markers and brightly colored folders like you might find at an office supply store. I got a red one, the girl in front of me got an orange one. It was the first day of school, I was starting the sixth grade, and, of... Continue Reading →
Speechless
When an African-American friend of mine after the Ahmaud Arbery shooting in February said he worried about running outside, I wasn’t sure what to say. Arbery, an unarmed 25-year-old, was fatally shot near Brunswick, Georgia, when he went out for a jog and was pursued by two white men. I tried to find the right... Continue Reading →
A letter to a former teacher: Pulling me back from the ledge
When I was 11, my basketball coach, who wasn’t much older than my teammates and I, walked the sideline of the small town community hall where we played, yelling and throwing his hands up in the air when we made a mistake or he disagreed with the referee's call. A few years later when I... Continue Reading →
Ten things I’m looking forward to when the COVID-19 quarantine concludes
We’ve followed the rules, we’ve tried to stay home, we’ve avoided close contact with people who are sick. We've kept distance between us and others. We've washed our hands often throughout the day and avoided touching our eyes, nose, and mouth. We've covered our mouths when we coughed or sneezed and we've cleaned and disinfected... Continue Reading →
In the middle of a pandemic: Grateful for the little things
People who know me know that I try to write my wife a short note once a week. We met via long distance in the days before online dating and text messaging and it's been a good way to keep us in touch and grounded. The letters are a story for another day, but my... Continue Reading →
We’re in this together
When terrorists struck the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Northern Virginia., and a third jet that crashed in a small field in Somerset County on September 11, 2001, first responders, firemen, and police rushed to help the survivors. In the days that followed, we... Continue Reading →
Coronavirus: Relearning good manners
You've heard the message. We've heard it so much over the past three weeks, you can probably repeat it in your sleep: Wash your hands. Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough. Stay inside if you’re sick. Be kind to others. The medical doctor on TV talked animatedly with her hands to the reporters... Continue Reading →

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