When I was a kid, I didn’t care if television made us violent or contributed to bad grades or meant we had neglectful parents. I loved watching television. Television was what we did: after school, before bed, late on Friday night and two thirds of the day on Saturday. If we wanted to watch something, […]
Author Archive
December diversions 2008
December is a tough month. Whatever your holiday or celebratory inclinations, stress begins to swirl like a snowstorm from the last bowl of turkey soup to the first fizz of New Year’s champagne. Every day seems a race to the end of the month, rushing from one paid day off work to the next with a checklist of extra […]
“Whenever you’re feeling good and hungry . . .”
I have been working in Cincinnati, Ohio for most of the past two weeks. I have been busy. I shuttle between a hotel room and an offsite training location and my meals are on the run – Starbucks, Wendy’s, McDonalds or a ham on rye and sweet tea from a chain deli across the parking lot. I […]
Between then and now
This has not been a banner month at our house. Work, for me, has been stressful. I have tackled a project that is more unwieldy than I assumed, it keeps sliding through my grasp and the chinks in my expertise. Details accumulate like mushrooms, popping up in the vast expanse of what I don’t know […]
Truth, up front and daily
I collect stories. I watch, interview, sort and relay with relish and enhanced veracity. Here are three stories from last week that have stayed with me because, as referenced yesterday, they brought “the truth up front in daily consciousness.” One: The protagonist is a freshman in college, first week on campus. He is a context guy, […]
Hello, my name is . . .
Last weekend I went to a party at our neighbors’ house. Billed as A BBQ in the ‘burbs; the gimmick was to invite all their hip city friends out to the boondocks to enjoy a spacious backyard and fifty year-old trees. They offered great music, a keg of beer and a guest list that included […]
Average distractions
I am sitting at a dining room table in a “vintage” house in suburban Chicago. It is not a big house but it is sturdy and tidy and has a huge elm tree in the front yard. It represents the middle of middle class living in the middle of Middle America. We may have a […]
Fugitive at the fantasy faire
The first thing that catches my eye is everything. Sparkles, shiny silks, textured tulle and ribbons swirling from skirts, tiaras, scepters, it is a castle of dolls and clothing and pretty. We are in the Princess souvenir store at Disneyland. There are girls clustered around displays like brown rabbits in a flower garden, scruffy and […]
From sea to shining sea
I have lived in 8 of the 50 states in the United States of America. I have visited 36 more. I have only 6 left to explore and then I can share an anecdote from the home state of any guest, at any cocktail party, from sea to shining sea. I am proud of what […]
Thursday playlist: Miyazaki summer
Note to readers: a bit of confusion this morning – so you get to enjoy the rhetorical post below and the intended playlist here – Bonus Thursday! Summer is like living in a Hayao Miyazaki film. Billowing clouds, sky that fades from blue to purple to red to white gold, green leaves flickering in every shade, […]
