Recently a friend of mine, someone I've known most of my 42 years on this Earth, called late one night and told me his father had unexpectedly died. I hadn't seen his father in years, and the last few times were merely in passing, but the news floored me. Honestly, it hit harder than it … Continue reading A Memory of a Father
As an educator I take the events that happened in Charlottesville, as well as the removal of statues in Baltimore last night, as an opportunity to educate. So my wife and I took this opportunity to educate my 11-year-old daughter. We had to explain to my 11-year-old what this is about, about Nazis and White … Continue reading Teaching my Daughter Understanding, Charlottesville, and Symbols of the South
We all have those times in our lives where there is a definitive moment, a life changing realization, where things will never be the same. For many of us, it involves something amazing. Perhaps you found God or religion in the unlikeliest of places. My pet sitter found Buddhism in my bathroom once when I … Continue reading Life Changing Moments are Overrated Anyway
His name was Patrick and he was lost. And he wasn't just lost, he was hopelessly, frantically lost and no one saw him. He was running around the Merry-Go-Round in Funland, just inside the Boardwalk at Rehoboth Beach, among the sweaty throngs of shore-dwellers who have long since left the sandy beaches, have gorged themselves … Continue reading I Was a Lost Boy Too
I don't hate Valentine's Day, but I'm not a fan of it either. I hate the commercialism, I hate the pressure of doing something special on this day over others, but I love that love is at the forefront of everyone's minds (even if it only the physical kind), and I like the cheap selections … Continue reading The Healing Power of All Natural Snowflakes
While I was watching one of my students try to pull a staple out of his tongue, it occurred to me, perhaps for the hundredth time that week, that teenagers are idiots. They truly are, and no one is exempt. I say this as a teacher, a parent (granted my oldest is only eight, but I … Continue reading Your teen is an idiot, but that may be okay
Recently my son went through a bout of Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease, a nasty bit of business if you've never had the pleasure of you or yours having it, and one of the things I've noticed recently is that the influx of things that They have to say has more or less dried up, … Continue reading Don’t be one of “They,” unless I need you to be.
