Archive for December 2019

I am often asked about the appropriate gift to give your child’s teacher around the holidays or at the end of the school year. After two decades as an elementary school teacher, here are some thoughts: First, giving your teacher nothing is perfectly fine. Teachers do not expect to receive a gift and are often…

On episode #76 of the Speak Up Storytelling podcast, special guest Kathy Binder and I talk storytelling! This week’s episode features the first half of a storytelling show at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts as part of a weekend of storytelling instruction. Following the stories, Kathy and I discuss each one.…

On episode #76 of the Speak Up Storytelling podcast, special guest Kathy Binder and I talk storytelling! This week’s episode features the first half of a storytelling show at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts as part of a weekend of storytelling instruction. Following the stories, Jeni and I discuss each one.…

Queen is a top 5 band of all time. Freddy Mercury is the greatest male vocalist of all time. I love this band. Still, the lyrics of some of their songs are just ridiculous. “Bohemian Rhapsody” being the most obvious. Yes, I love the song, and yes, I think it’s one of the greatest rock…

For the first time since Gallup first asked the question, a considerable majority of Americans say life imprisonment is a better punishment for murder than the death penalty. When first asked in 1985, 34 percent of respondents favored life imprisonment with absolutely no possibility for parole to 56 percent who favored execution. Today, for the…

My wife, Elysha, has asked me to refrain from engaging in verbal altercations with strangers in public. I understand her concern. Shaming someone for their poor treatment of a restaurant worker or a CVS cashier is not worth the chances that the person might attempt to cause me physical harm. I get it. It’s also…

Personal opinion: When you require this much text and complexity to open a door, you need a new door.

Back in 2014, I wrote a post about why Disney’s Amber had every right to despise her step sister, Sophia the First. And I stand by that position today. I wrote at the time: Sophia and her mother live alone. There is no father in the picture, and his absence is never explained. Sophia’s mother…

On episode #75 of the Speak Up Storytelling podcast, Matthew and Elysha Dicks talk storytelling! In our follow up segment, we discuss last week’s book launch event. We also direct listeners to our new Soundcloud account and Matt’s updated YouTube channel. We also ask listeners to help solve a problem. In our Homework for Life…

From May 14, 2008, to December 20, 2015, I wrote to my children (and future children) every single day. On May 14, 2008, I realized that Elysha was pregnant – even before she knew that she was pregnant – when she left the table at a restaurant to use the restroom for the second time.…