Our family dog, Nittany, a Lhasa Apso – Bichon Frise mix, looked up at me with drowsy eyes from her perch on our bed. Before I got up and got a shower and got started with my work day, I rubbed behind Nittany's ears and up and down her belly. Nittany, who is now 11,... Continue Reading →
Doing it all wrong
My wife walked into our kitchen and gave me a questioning look, the kind of look every husband knows all too well. I could tell I was in trouble. I had pots and pans scattered across the stove and had made a general mess of the room. My wife put down her phone, taking in... Continue Reading →
Here comes the sun!
The dew shimmered like little diamonds as the grass caught the early morning sun. For the briefest of moments, I considered stepping out of my car and running my hands across the ground since the "diamonds" looked big enough to sweep up into my bare hands. I had driven my wife to an early morning... Continue Reading →
Finding some inspiration
Is anyone else having a tough week? I've been there before. Once when I was a kid, I was having a particularly tough week. I’m not sure what was going on, maybe a test or two, possibly something at home, who knows? When I let my frustration come out during basketball practice, my coach, the... Continue Reading →
Unanswered prayers
I put the phone down and lightly banged my fist against my head. My wife and I were newly married and I was up for a new job that would mean more money and, if we pinched our pennies right, could help speed up our bid to buy our first home. Unfortunately, though, the newspaper... Continue Reading →
Through the eyes of a teacher
When my kids were young, they loved to listen to children’s entertainers like the Wiggles, the gang from Sesame Street, VeggieTales, Raffi, and Joe Scruggs. They loved the silly, upbeat music and crazy performances. The music was so well loved in our house that our daughter wanted us to call 9-1-1 when we somehow inadvertently... Continue Reading →
An inauspicious first date
It was Friday night and the music boomed throughout the restaurant. Boom, ba, ba, boom, ba, ba, boom. The restaurant manager had the lights down low and the place was packed with people, with everyone seeming to be shouting to the person next to them. I could barely hear myself think, forget about hear my... Continue Reading →
Going home again: My hometown through adult eyes
When I was a kid, I hated that we lived outside of town away from most of the other kids in my school. The distance was a mere three miles, but it felt like 3,000. To my way of thinking, we may as well have lived in another country. I should probably explain, when I... Continue Reading →
Small-minded people
The memory is clear as day. It’s been more than thirty years ago, but I still remember how I came back from class to find that someone had ripped in half a poster and doodled on another that I had hung on the wall of my college dorm room. My roommate and I weren’t the... Continue Reading →

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