Archive for March 2018
My first day without my friend
I stayed home from work yesterday following the death of my dog, Kaleigh. At first I wondered if I I really needed to stay at home, but it turns out that I was a bit of a mess for much of the day. More than I ever expected, to be honest. I return to work…
Read MoreKaleigh 2002-2018
I lost my girl yesterday. My little friend. My best friend of 16 years. I miss her so very much.
Read More23 years lost and nothing offered in return
When Lamonte McIntyre was exonerated for a double murder in October, he walked out of a Kansas prison with a clean record – but not a dime to his name. After losing 23 years of his life behind bars, the state is offering him nothing upon his release. Kansas is one of 18 states that offer…
Read MoreMovies require logic in order to succeed. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri lacked that logic.
The thing that upsets me most about a film is a failure of logic. A movie is supposed to transport the audience to another world. At its best, it should make us almost forget our own world. I brought Charlie to Paddington 2 a month ago. In the middle of the movie, he bolted upright…
Read MoreJoy in the small and the large
Some days are harder than others. On those days, it’s important to find and embrace joy wherever it might be hiding. It’s usually hiding right in front of you. Yesterday… I watched our cat play in a paper bag until he was exhausted.I listed the irrational dangers of guppies and ducks to my giggling daughter.I…
Read MoreWeCroak: An app that does what my brain already does
My friend, Kim, alerted me to a new app called WeCroak. It does one simple thing: Five times per day, at unpredictable intervals, it sends you a message that says: “Don’t forget, you’re going to die.” The app was created by Ian Thomas, a 27-year-old freelance app developer, and Hansa Bergwall, a 35-year-old publicist, “I would…
Read MoreCO2 is apparently like candy
This organization staked out a booth at the recent Republican CPAC conference. This is what happens when you lie and deceive for profit until you can’t lie and deceive anymore: You invent a new lie so you can continue destroying the planet for profit.
Read MorePeople stay home when it rains. How stupid.
This is a real thing: When it rains, slightly fewer people attend our Speak Up shows. Also, when it rains, fewer people go to the theater. The movies. Even restaurants do less business when it rains. The same holds true for frigid temperatures. Even the mercury plummets below 20 degrees, people are far more likely…
Read MoreSnow days: One thing I love. One thing I hate.
I’m an elementary school teacher, and today I am home because of snow. One thing I love about snow days and one thing I hate: Many (and maybe most) teachers despise snow days, fully aware of the long, summer days that each snow day costs them. Many parents despise snow days for this same reason, and also…
Read MoreAn unusual and exhausting but unforgettable weekend thanks to a July night in 2011
I’m often astounded by the places that a story told on a stage in 2011 has taken me. This weekend I had the honor working with caregivers at Yale New Haven Hospital, teaching them how to tell stories about their own experiences as patients and the spouses, parents, and children of patients to doctors, nurses, and…
Read More