Archive for September 2017
Quite possibly the worst person in the world
In the unfortunate event that you are suffering with a despicable person in your life – colleague, family member, neighbor, boss, clergy person – I offer you my condolences and some potential solace. This is a question posed to Dear Prudence (Mallory Ortberg), Slate’s advice columnist. After reading this person’s question, you may feel a…
Read MoreShare your failures with the world
One of the more surprising reasons that people take my storytelling workshops is for dating. Men (so far it’s only been men) realize that what they say on a first date does not yield them a second date. Something is going wrong. So they arrive to my workshop hoping to improve their ability to engage,…
Read MoreOur dream-come-true comes to an end. A new chapter begins today.
Today my wife returns to work after eight years as a stay-at-home mom. For a couple years when Clara was in preschool, Elysha worked part-time as a reading tutor in the school where I work and where she once worked, but for all intents and purposes, she has been home, raising Clara and then Charlie,…
Read MoreA Columbian tradition that I will make my own
I received an email from a mother and son from Columbia, who just finished reading Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend. She explained that it’s a tradition in her country to sign the last page and date it when finished reading a book. She sent me a photo of the last page. I love this idea.…
Read MoreThe fade out (and fade in) explained.
If you’re a lover of music, you will find this fascinating. Promise.
Read MoreMystery machine
The Scooby Doo gang was pretty presumptuous to name their van The Mystery Machine. I realize that they encountered an uncanny and irrational number of criminals trying to cover up crimes by using the ghost story and costume, but still, did they really expect it to continue week after week? Who could assume that after…
Read MoreTeaching is full of unexpected surprises
One billion years ago, I taught a third grader named Kaity to multiply. Last night, as Elysha and I were leaving for a Moth StorySLAM in Somerville, I asked Kaity, now an adult and frequent babysitter to our children, to help my third grade daughter with her multiplication homework. It was surreal. No one ever…
Read MoreTEDx Pomfret: It’s Not the Curriculum
Last year I spoke at a TEDx conference in Pomfret, CT on the subject of education. Specifically, I spoke about what is important and what is not when it comes to teaching children and young adults. I have yet to watch the video. I’m highly self critical of my own performances and will need some…
Read MoreA serious commitment to golf
I’ve played golf in the rain many times. I’ve once played golf in the snow. To be fair, it wasn’t snowing when we started the round, and the forecast hadn’t called for snow. But it was definitely cold enough for snow. But this photograph of golfers in California playing as wildfires burn in the distance…
Read MoreAn untimely poop and a blocked toilet lead to magic.
I grew up next door to my grandparents. They owned a small house at the top of a hill on a sprawling piece of farm and forest. My childhood home was at the bottom on the hill. As a boy, I saw the two properties as one. One enormous adventure-land to explore. On Saturday,…
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