grin and bare it
A blog by Matthew Dicks
Banned books
At a book talk, I was asked about the recent banning of books in stupid places by stupid people. My answer: The same people who are banning and support the banning of books have placed…
Read MoreToday we celebrate 18
Today, Elysha and I celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. We’ll spend most of it driving north to Vermont to pick up Clara from camp, where she has been for more than three weeks. Besides a…
Read MoreRIP Dr. Ruth
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the iconic sex therapist whose advice helped educate millions of Americans about sexual desires and practices, sadly died this week. I met Dr. Ruth backstage at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health…
Read MoreCarlos O’Kelly’s
I’ve driven by this restaurant every time I visit the FBI at Quantico, and I cannot help but wonder: How did this happen? How did a Mexican restaurant end up with an Irish name? Or…
Read MoreAngry at nothing
I occasionally see a person wearing a mask while driving their car. I’ve also seen people wearing masks walking down an otherwise empty sidewalk. Recently, I saw someone wearing a mask while watching a Little…
Read MoreClosed captioning all the time
I see the words people say. When someone speaks – and especially when I am speaking – I see the words being spoken like closed captioning. For a long time, I thought everyone did this.…
Read MoreI hit another birdie.
Birds play an oversized role in golf. A birdie occurs when a golfer finishes a hole one stroke under par. It’s a difficult feat but not exactly rare. I’ve scored at least five birdies this…
Read MoreClara and Charlie’s Commandments
As Louisiana begins violating our separation of church and state and displaying a set of arcane religious laws in its public classrooms—a list containing a handful of meaningless rules ignored by even the most observant…
Read MoreItching for a fight
I was dropped off by an Uber driver in Scottsdale, Arizona, well after midnight, in a dark, sketchy place about a mile from my hotel. The driver pointed at a building that appeared to have…
Read MoreCharlie and his pal
The boy loves the cat. The cat loves the boy. I’m not sure who loves who more, which is probably precisely how every relationship should be. Either way, it is a beautiful thing to see.
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