Writing from the Heart with Brian
Think, Laugh, & Cry Each Day
When I was in fifth or sixth grade, I had a teacher who would use the Mad Libs books or some version of them to help make grammar fun and interesting. The Mad Libs contain short stories on each page with key words replaced with blanks. She would prompt us for specific parts of a... Continue Reading →
I grew up in a beautiful rural area. When I was 17-years-old and felt depressed or claustrophobic growing up in my rural home, I would go for a drive. I would drive past beautiful Amish and non-Amish farms. I would drive past little churches with tall steeples. I would cut through the valley where I... Continue Reading →
The Mississippi native was talking about all the things wrong with his home state. He listed the problems and the state’s ranking in various nationwide surveys rapid fire. He knew them well and mocked the state's poor showing: Ranked 50th in poverty. Ranked 49th in the mortality rate, suicide rate, smoking rate, mental health, infant mortality... Continue Reading →
I saw flashes of red light in front of me. The two cars that I had been following for the past ten minutes started pumping on their brakes. They had been driving at a pretty high rate of speed, but now were coasting to something just above a walk. I groaned. I had run smack... Continue Reading →
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 →
When I was a young kid, my mother would occasionally pack up my brothers and I into the family car and cart us off for the hour to two hour drive to visit my grandparents or one of our aunts or uncles, who were Amish. My mother grew up Amish in rural Central Pennsylvania (think... Continue Reading →
When I was 8 or 9-years-old, I looked forward to checking our mailbox. I would get off the school bus and, before heading inside our house, I’d walk to the mailbox, reach up to see what the mailman had brought, and carry the mail inside with me. Most days, the mailman delivered my parents bills... Continue Reading →
I can sense it coming. The feeling starts out like a distant ache. I’ll push it back to the back of my mind in the hopes that it will go away. My attempt to keep my focus to “the here and now” will work for a while, but the feeling will soon come back. This... Continue Reading →
When I ran into school troubles, when I felt like I didn’t fit-in with friends, when life seemed challenging, one place served as a refuge. When I struggled as a kid, I had one place I could go to get away. I liked the baseball diamond, football field, and basketball court. They were first loves,... Continue Reading →
Writing from the Heart with Brian 
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