Archive for May 2020

On episode #96 of the Speak Up Storytelling podcast, Matthew and Elysha Dicks talk storytelling! In our follow up segment, we discuss our absence for the last couple weeks, share emails from listeners around the world, and describe upcoming events. In our Homework for Life segment, I talk about identifying and crafting seemingly tiny moments…

I came riding down a path behind Charlie’s elementary school last week, approaching the school. Standing on the edge of the soccer field, adjacent to the playground, is a porta-potty. I know this because after riding my bike around my town for more than two months without missing a day, I’ve identified all of the…

I like to imagine that just a few years from now, we’ll look at photos from this time, like these of our recent trip for ice cream, and think it so odd that our spots in line were marked in chalk – six feet apart – outside the ice cream shop. Or that only one…

Here’s a new strategy that I’ve been using to great effect: Yesterday I did not want to go for a bike ride. This has happened before. Rain, frigid temperatures, and relentless wind have caused me to want to stay home several times over the past two months. Yesterday the weather was perfect for the bike,…

Nothing to see here. Just the Secretary of the Treasury in the midst of economic collapse engaging in a Twitter feud with Guns n’ Roses lead singer Axl Rose. This shouldn’t be surprising because we don’t have professionals running our government. In a time when large corporations and wealthy Trump donors are receiving loans from…

On Sunday we took a ride over to Clara’s middle school. Empty parking lots, barren basketball courts, and wide-open driveways made for safe riding. Clara was also pretty excited about seeing her school after almost two months away. She wanted to see the place that occupied so much of her life just a few weeks…

Time and time again, I find myself working with young people – folks in their twenties and early thirties – on stories about their journey to find themselves. Discover or rediscover who they are. I’ve always been so impressed. Never in my life have I ever felt the need to find myself. I’ve always assumed…

When I left the house for my bike ride yesterday, the sun was bright. Puffy clouds dotted the sky. As I rode, I noticed darker clouds gathering in the west, but so far off that I ignored them and pressed on. As I approach mile #5, I saw that the clouds were gaining on me,…

I understand that a hardcore Trump supporter is not about to abandon ship anytime soon. If you can embrace a man who brags about sexual assault (with 24 credible sexual harassment and assault claims pending against him), refers to Nazis as “very fine people,” separates families on the border and cages small children, refers to…

This is admittedly not the best time to celebrate Mother’s Day. Sheltering-in-place and social distancing are not exactly conducive to celebration. Restaurants and other businesses are closed, and the forecast calls for mild temperatures but winds blowing 15-25 miles per hour with gusts up to 35 miles per hour. Not great. But if we must…