Oh, my teacher meant well. My seventh-grade teacher tried to introduce my class to the joy of poetry. She tasked us with finding a poem that we liked and then reciting it from memory to rest of the class. We had a limited selection of poems to choose. Half of the class, meaning most of... Continue Reading →
The funk!
I’m in a funk. Do you ever get in one of those? I'm not depressed, I'm really not, and I'm not talking about the 70s rock band, Grand Funk Railroad, the 1969 song Do The Funky Chicken or even The Chicken Dance. I'm just in a downcast mood. Here’s what I’m feeling: I’m scattered. I... Continue Reading →
Knockin’ on heaven’s door
When host Jame Lipton was alive, he used to ask guests of his show, Inside the Actors Studio, "if God exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?" He got the usual responses, but some off the wall ones too: Harrison Ford responded, "You're much better-looking in... Continue Reading →
What doesn’t kill you . . .
I would be angry, the frustration would build up, and the tears would come, but I didn't really have much of a way to stop them. I would promise myself that I would speak better the next time, I would speak slower, and the words would be clearer. When I think about my stutter and... Continue Reading →
Saying thank you after a close-call
Life has its share of emotional ups and downs, so when good things happen, I try to take notice. I found that I couldn't help but read up this weekend on Buffalo Bills Safety Damar Hamlin's return to the field where he almost lost his life. Hamlin, 25, collapsed, suffering cardiac arrest during the Bills January... Continue Reading →
Overcoming my stutter
(Reposted from December 2019.) The teacher stood over me like an angry giant. Looking back now I’m guessing that he couldn’t have been more than 5’8 or 5’9 tall and probably just graduated from college, but to my eyes, he held a position of authority, seemed pleased to catch his prey out of the classroom,... Continue Reading →
Sleeping Beauty takes a nap!
When we're infants and toddlers, we tend to hate naps. We fight sleep and rest time. Naps get in the way of the things we love doing most — playing. As we age, we tend to change our mind. In my mid-fifties now, I’ve especially come to see the error of my ways. I love... Continue Reading →
Finding true love
We've had several fall weddings and are also celebrating our own anniversary, so I've been thinking a lot about marriage. It's a monumental moment, two people walking down the aisle to say their vows. There's plenty of jokes about marriage: "I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want... Continue Reading →
Oh, my aching back!
My wife’s knees were bothering her the other day. She was on her feet much of the day and it was catching up to her. My back has been bothering me too. I joke that we’re getting older, but it’s more than that, we’ve earned our bruises the hard way. Here’s what I mean: When... Continue Reading →

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