Posts by mattyd

It astounds me that during Pride Month, I live in a region of the country – New England – where flying the pride flag at the elementary school where I teach and the football stadium where I’ve spent so many Sundays is considered normal, acceptable, and entirely appropriate by the majority of people around me.…

Charlie came downstairs early on Saturday morning, picked up a book, sat down on the couch with the cat, and spent nearly an hour reading. His weekend was dawning, and his first choice was to read. His sister was still in bed at the time, also reading. I know what you’re thinking: What a couple…

Behold. The Russian cover for my novel “The Other Mother.” I like it a lot. My Russian friend says it’s very Soviet in style. My students thought it looked like the work of a toddler. No accounting for taste. Also, they probably said that just to hurt me a little.

Amanda Gorman’s poem “The Hill We Climb” has been moved from the elementary section to the middle school section of a Miami-Dade County public school after a parent complaint and school review. A parent of a student at Bob Graham Education Center objected to the poem, claiming it “is not educational and have indirectly hate…

Every month I report the progress of my yearly goals in order to monitor progress (or the lack thereof) and hold myself accountable.   The following are the results from May 2023. PERSONAL FITNESS 1. Don’t die. No near-death experiences in May. Also no death. As always, I plan on living forever or die trying.…

Last week I wrote about the unlikelihood of me performing storytelling or standup while naked. Then it occurred to me: I’ve already been naked onstage once before. I had forgotten. Here is the story: I am quite susceptible to hypnosis. This trait may run in the family. My mother, a smoker for more than twenty-five…

Charlie turns 11 years old today. This joyous boy has been in my life for 4,017 days. On his first day, I wrote this on Greetings Little One, a blog I wrote to my children every day for their first eight years. I’m so happy that I did. I certainly remember the day that Charlie…

On this Memorial Day, in addition to honoring the fallen servicemen and women who gave their lives for this country, I will also be thinking about the men in my family who came before me and fought for our country abroad. My great-grandfather, who served in the US Navy and fought during World War 1.…

Charlie’s Little League catapulted into first place on Friday night with a decisive victory against the league’s then-first-place team. Charlie played second and third base. He knocked down – and nearly snared – a line drive hit to his right. He cheered on his teammates. Backed up every throw from the catcher to the pitcher.…

My friend recently read about a naked standup show in New York City and texted: “Please don’t invite me to come watch if you decide to do this.” I was honored by his thought that I might consider doing such a thing. Standup is hard enough already. The possibility in my friend’s mind that I…