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
An Angel When I Needed It Most
(A version of this story appeared on The Heart of The Matter in November 2023.) The thing I noticed first was his calmness. He wasn’t like the other teachers, coaches, or family friends in my life. He had a soft voice that you sometimes had to strain to hear and he rarely seemed to yell... 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.
“Don’t Make Me Come Over There!” (Even Deer Get the Glare)
Think "the parent glare" is strictly a human trait? Think again. From a home office window, one weary mother doe proved that keeping adventurous kids in line is a universal struggle.
The baby’s heart beat
(I first ran this story in 2017. My babies are grown now. But, I've never stopped worrying about them.) Last week when I was rifling through a box in our basement, I found an old calendar. I started to push it aside, but something caught my eye. My wife must have had an appointment with... Continue Reading →
No talking back!
(The original version of this story ran in September 2022. I've made several updates.) I walked away with tears streaming down my face. I couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old. I turned around to try my case before the judge and jury one more time, but my mom had enough of... Continue Reading →
Making it home
I'm happy this time of year. Oh, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, but it's more than that. I love families coming together. I love that college students start coming back to the nest today and later next week. My son, our youngest, will arrive home later this evening. I probably won't see him... Continue Reading →
Standing up to a bully
When I was in middle school, my friends and I were on the football team and raced from class at the other end of the hall to the locker room. We had to get into our football equipment and out onto the field. Our coaches wanted us on time. They didn't want us to be... Continue Reading →
Writing from the Heart with Brian 
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