Archive for January 2018
This video has aged badly. Very, very badly.
I like this song. It’s always a hit when I play it at a wedding. But the video has not aged well. In fact, I would argue that it’s become nearly unwatchable. If Michael Jackson were alive today, it would behoove him to scrub it completely from the Internet. It’s not good in a really…
Read MoreYou’re a writer? A real writer?
The oddity of being a writer is this You often find yourself constantly explaining that yes, it’s true. You are in fact a published writer. A paid writer. A professional writer. A person whose career is to assemble words in an entertaining and informative order. While eating large amounts of protein at a tailgate recently, my…
Read MoreSave money. Pee on this page.
For the first time in the history of the world, a company wants you to pee on their magazine ad, and it’s brilliant.
Read MoreI love this and hate this.
It’s rare that a document can bring joy to my heart and enrage me all at the same time. King Jordan, the student who wrote this journal response, clearly has strong and justifiable feelings about Columbus Day and the reality of the explorer’s accomplishments. While his journal response might not be the most measured and…
Read MoreOur boy watches Star Wars for the first time
My son Charlie, age 5, watched episodes 4, 5, and 6 of Star Wars with me and Elysha over the past two weeks. It was quite the experience. Though he knew almost nothing about Star Wars, he owns about a dozen action figures and received a Millennium Falcon for Christmas this year. He knew there were…
Read MoreThe hardest and best apology
I’ve managed to do this several times in my life, and it’s true. Life becomes a lot easier when you simply forgive, absent of any apology. It’s like lifting an enormous weight off your shoulders. I’ve also failed to find this type of unsolicited forgiveness at least twice in my life. In both cases, I…
Read MoreStop getting older, little girl.
Today is my daughter’s ninth birthday. As I write these words (at 5:40 AM), she’s standing about seven feet to my left, listening to the music of Grace Vanderwaal and, in her words, “enjoying an early morning Grace Vanderwaal dance party.” The cats are sitting on the counter, watching her dance. Transfixed by this not-so-little-girl…
Read MoreIt’s 9:00 on a Saturday…
During my 21 years as a wedding DJ, I have played Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” at 9:00 on a Saturday whenever possible. Hundreds of times. Only once – La Renaissance, September 2011 – did someone notice.
Read MoreFive sausages and a good story
The New England Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in the AFC championship game at Gillette Stadium. It was the eighth AFC championship game that I have attended in my lifetime. Patriot fans have indeed been blessed over the last 16 years. Prior to the game, about ten of us gathered in the parking…
Read MoreIt’s a wonder I get anything done
I was writing this morning. It was quite early. The sun had yet to rise. Words were flowing. Paragraphs were forming. Things were good. Then my daughter, Clara, age 8, appeared at the table. Early. The sun still wasn’t up. Her very first words of the day to me were these: Clara: “I know Hawaii…
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