Writing from the Heart with Brian
Think, Laugh, & Cry Each Day
When Dick Vermeil took over coaching the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976, he ran one of the toughest training camps in the league. This was back in the day when NFL coaches ran football training camps like boot camp. The Eagles would practice in pads and equipment for hours at a time two or three times... Continue Reading →
(I originally ran this story in September 2017.) I shake my head some days. I grew up in a rural farming community where small, simple church steeples outnumbered taverns and watering holes and you had to drive 30 minutes to get to the nearest grocery store. Each small village had a post office and maybe... Continue Reading →
This past June, I was driving late one evening. My mother had a bad fall and was recovering near her home in a rehab hospital. We had visited with her and I was driving home. I was tired. I hadn't had much time in front of the laptop. I had a million thoughts racing through... Continue Reading →
One night when I was in college, I was working in the library on a paper that my journalism professor had assigned. He asked us to write a news story on the college trustees' decision to make several program cuts and raise tuition for the fifth year in a row. I was struggling with the... Continue Reading →
You step foot in one of the five boroughs in New York City and you can feel the pounding heartbeat of the city that never sleeps. You land in Las Vegas and the sounds of slot machines ring in your ears. You may have the first dollar you ever earned hanging up in your office,... Continue Reading →
(A version of this piece first appeared in July 2020.) I should have listened. Before we even left the house, I saw the weather report calling for the possibility of passing snow squalls. In the car, I heard the radio announcer caution listeners about how the snow was coming down West of us in big,... Continue Reading →
I sit at my desk and crank out a 500-word post. I struggle at first, but once I come up with an enticing lead, the post "writes itself." Key sentences and phrases originate in my head. I can't write them down fast enough. I try to keep pace. I don't want to lose any of... Continue Reading →
There's unwritten rules in life. You're walking into work or a store, you hold the door open for the person behind you. If you see an older person or someone walking with a limp, you hold the door an extra beat longer. It's an unwritten rule. Life is full of rules like this. I'm noticing... Continue Reading →
When my middle son was in first grade, he found a little yellow frog in our toy box. It was one of those small toys that you get out of a coin-operated vending machine. For a three week period, the 50 cent toy meant the world to him. He carried it with him wherever he... Continue Reading →
Writing from the Heart with Brian 
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