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The best and the worst come together in Times Square

Did you hear about the massive swarm of bees that descended upon Times Square earlier this week? From the New York Times: “Thousands of bees swarmed part of Times Square on Tuesday afternoon, sending tourists and passers-by scrambling before the bees settled on the cart of a very unhappy hot-dog vendor at 43rd Street and…

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Storyworthy: The audiobook has arrived, narrated, perhaps unfortunately, by me

The audiobook for Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Power of Storytelling is now available for your downloading or compact disc pleasure, and for the first time, the book is narrated by me. I’m afraid to listen.  After spending three days in a recording studio in Grand Haven, Michigan, misreading words,…

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Donald Trump lost last night, and I won.

On July 11 of 2017, I was walking with half a dozen teenage girls across the quad at Miss Porter’s School toward the dining hall. They were my camp counselors – Miss Porters’ students who were helping me teach about 25 other girls from around the world about writing, speaking,  and storytelling. We were heading…

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The worst

Nuclear weaponsUnannounced pickles placed on plates without warning or permissionThe Trump PresidencyDress codesIdentity theftThe second and third Matrix filmsDance school teachers who perform in their students’ recitalsThe end of summer vacationIncarceration for minor drug offensesParents who disown their children for choices of spouse or religionSemicolonsThe gun show loopholeOff-brand Pop TartsThis sign Things that should not exist…

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Speak Up Storytelling #15: Roquita Johnson

Episode #15 of Speak Up Storytelling is now available for your listening pleasure. Elysha Dicks and I talk about finding excellent stories in your everyday life using my strategy “Homework for Life,” including moments that storytellers see but non-storytellers might not.  Then we listen to Roquita Johnson’s story about finding her calling, followed by commentary and…

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Would you be more likely, less likely, or just as likely to marry your spouse today?

Interesting question posited by a friend recently: Would you be more likely, less likely, or just as likely to marry your spouse if you met him or her for the first time today? My friend believes that couples who were married when they were young would be less likely to marry their spouses if they…

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N-word bingo

It’s not hard to avoid using racial epitaphs. Words that offend enormous swaths of humanity for justifiable reasons. Despite this, people still do. Sometimes it’s because they are racist, and they use the word as a means of denigration.  Sometimes they are thoughtless and inconsiderate, and they use the word without thinking about what it…

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If you could recover a single object from your past, what would it be?

When I was 16 years-old, I went to Pasadena, California with my high school’s marching band to perform in the Rose Bowl Parade. At the time, I had just begun dating my high school sweetheart, Laura. Laura was traveling to Pasadena, too. Though she wasn’t actually a member of the marching band, she had somehow…

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Little things made big

It’s been a big summer for my son, Charlie. Lots of new learning and remarkable accomplishments. In addition to reading books for the first time and making enormous progress with his swimming and biking, he had a few interesting milestones as well.  First, he learned to cross his eyes.  Next, and perhaps even more impressive,…

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The exact opposite of a bridezilla

As a wedding DJ for more than 20 years, I’ve encountered my fair share of bridezillas. Some of them have been absolute monsters.   It’s always such a shame. On a day that should be celebratory, joyous, and full of romance and love, brides (and the occasionally groom) spend so much of their time and energy…

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