GRIN & BARE IT
Read (and subscribe to) Grin and Bare It, my daily blog on storytelling, productivity, current events, teaching, my family, and other musings.
I have been posting to this blog every day since 2005.
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Women’s suffrage is tragically, stupidly not that old
While I was in Ottowa, I saw a fantastic memorial to women’s suffrage, which reminded me: American women have only been allowed to vote for Read More
Never a good reason to do anything
Elysha and I walked halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge last weekend. On the way back, I heard someone say: “Not everyone can say they Read More
Pens in doctor’s office
This is brilliant. It’s also a damn tragedy that it needs to exist. It should also be acknowledged that more than 99% of the time, Read More
Michelle Obama
From Michelle Obama’s brilliant DNC speech: _______________________________ “She (Kamala Harris) understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We Read More
Resolution update: September 2024
Every month, I report the progress of my yearly goals to monitor progress (or the lack thereof) and hold myself accountable. The following are Read More
Flat tires
I saw this truck on the streets of San Fransisco this weekend. Sometimes, I see something like this, and I wish I had the time Read More
Tragedy behind glass
Tragedy strikes. In 1994, I ran for President of Manchester Community College’s Student Council. It wasn’t the best decision of my life. I was already Read More
AbeBooks Weird Book Room
The internet is a place of beauty and disaster. I sometimes wonder if we would be better off without it. As a member of Generation Read More
Childhood bedrooms
In recent decades, it’s become increasingly common for kids growing up in the United States to have their own room and not share a room Read More
Thinking beyond the recipe
When I met my wife, I could cook a few things. Chief among them was Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with hotdogs, which my wife found Read More
Teachers on a time clock
It’s come to my attention that one proposal in our current teacher contract negotiations requires teachers to arrive at school 30 minutes before the school Read More
Trickle down economics was a joke gone very wrong
Trickle-down economics was first embraced by Ronald Reagan in 1980. It refers to economic policies that disproportionately favor the upper tier of the economic spectrum, Read More
No more guitar solos
The last rock song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart was Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me.” It was released in August 2001 Read More
Steve saw me.
Over the past 26 years as a teacher, I have received an untold number of hours of professional development. A glacier of training. An ice Read More
No inner monologue?
A new study shows that not everyone has an “inner voice” in their heads. The extent and intensity of that voice vary considerably from person Read More
Why the fire swallower worried me so much
More than a decade ago, I was officiating a wedding for a couple at a cabin on a campground in Maine. I’d call her a Read More
Termites are better than us
A new study of termite mounds near the Buffels River in Namaqualand, South Africa, has dated the mounds to be 34,000 years old and shows Read More
Too much regulation isn’t nearly as bad as too little
When politicians — usually Republicans — and their corporate interests rail against government regulation, we should rightly point to incidents like the Love Canal, the Read More
Sometimes you need a coach
Almost two decades ago, a friend named Tom tossed a set of golf clubs into the back of my truck — purchased at a garage Read More
Bored people are boring
I’ve heard a lot of people talk about the value of learning to be bored. Kids, they say, need to learn to be bored from Read More
