Archive for April 2023

Just a few days before our first Speak Up Storytelling show of 2023! SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2023 at 7:00 PM at the Connecticut Historical Society Museum and Library Great stories! Complimentary wine, beer, soft drinks, and food. Best deal in town! We hope you’ll join us for a fantastic evening of storytelling: “Fish Out of…

A team of MIT scientists – yes, a team – conducted an experiment using more than 1,000 Oreos and a rheometer to test if there is a way to reliably twist the wafers such that some of the cream filling is remaining on both sides. The rheometer allowed the scientists to examine how the Oreo…

I was sitting at a table in Reagan International Airport, pecking away on my computer, waiting for my next flight, when a man began screaming somewhere down the terminal. It wasn’t a frightened scream. It was more of an angry or panicked scream. He didn’t sound happy. And it wasn’t just a single scream. It…

On Thursday, I spoke about writing at a TEDx Talk in Natick, Massachusetts. Later, during the reception, I was approached by a woman who told me that years ago, she wrote a poem and planned on submitting it to The New Yorker, but she was too nervous to do so. “I might just submit it…

I was completing a checklist on a child to determine if they required additional academic support: Hundreds of questions designed to identify a child’s strengths and weaknesses. Question #68 asked: Breaks the rules just to see what will happen. Never Sometimes Often Almost always The child in question was “Never” on this particular question, but…

Our April vacation comes to an end today. Tomorrow I will return to my classroom and my fifth-grade students, who do things like place decapitated Kristoff from “Frozen” on my keyboard and never speak a word about it. Not a single word. They are amazing human beings. Hilarious and brilliant. Also a little scary.

While I was in Victoria, British Columbia, at a speaking gig, Elysha took the children to Newport, Rhode Island, for a couple of days to explore the mansions. On the way home, Elysha’s tire went flat on Route 2 in Colchester, Connecticut. After calling AAA for a tow, she reconsidered and decided to call the…

I’ve found my storytelling soul sister. Or one of them, at least. Her name is Lisa Congdon. The title of her book is You Will Leave a Trail of Stars.  It’s a book filled with inspiration and wisdom, but the passage below is the one I adore most. I often say that the most important…

I’ve been on six planes in the last two days. Quite a lot of flying. It occurs to me: Food on a plane is weird. Maybe not as weird if you’re flying for eight hours across the country, but on a two-hour flight from Washington DC to Connecticut? Or a three-hour flight from Denver to…

Charlie and I were watching The Simpsons. Season 6. Episode 7. “Bart’s Girlfriend” Halfway through the episode, Charlie groaned. “Watching Bart Simpson flirt is making me ill. I truly feel pain.” I understood exactly what he meant. Though young love is real and true, the last thing you want to see is Bart Simpson tied…