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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Million dollar banana

In 2019, artist Maurizio Cattelan created “Comedian,” which consisted of a single banana duct taped to a wall. It first appeared at Art Basel Miami Read More

What is something someone who has never been poor wouldn’t understand?

Someone named Precious Michael on Threads asks, “What is something someone who has never been poor wouldn’t understand?” As someone who struggled in poverty for Read More

A poorly phrased request

Charlie and I exchanged emails from school to school yesterday. Neither of my children owns a phone, but they can use their Chromebooks during the Read More

25 Things again

Years ago, my friend Kate sent me a message entitled 25 Things via Facebook. It included a list of 25 random facts about her and a Read More

The Heavy Metal Playhouse

This is a pin I had made in 1991. It’s still one of my favorite pins today. The HMP was The Heavy Metal Playhouse — Read More

Pizza, chicken, hot dogs, and anger. And a little love, too.

A former colleague—someone I have not seen in a decade—was speaking to me this week, and while reminiscing, she said, “Remember that time you brought Read More

John Batiste makes me happy.

Joy. Art. Hilarity. Music. Brilliance. It’s not often that you can find all of them in one place. John Batiste brings it here. I love Read More

Divider or continuer?

Here’s a quick exercise to understand yourself better: Try to remember life as you lived it years ago. Back then, you cared deeply about certain Read More

Dating differently at Stop & Shop

I was explaining to a client that doing something differently is often the best way to do it. While most people try like hell to Read More

I’ve never liked onions so much

Small victories are still great victories. Momentous victories. Hilarious victories. Case in point: The Onion — the brilliant satirical publication that skewers newsmakers and current Read More

Early morning cravings go unsatisfied

I’m sure this has happened to you. You awaken — bright-eyed and excited about the day — but then you feel the pang deep in Read More

“The compliment sandwich” is stupid.

I was offering feedback on the client’s upcoming keynote. I began by pointing out something she had done well. Before I could make my next Read More

Killing time in the return

Last year, consumers in the United States returned $743 billion worth of merchandise, which amounts to 14.5 percent of all things purchased. That’s an increase Read More

Collect, believe, and wait until the time is right

In just over a month, I’ll celebrate 20 years of posting on my blog without ever missing a day. That’s 7,304 consecutive days of finding Read More

Blue zones are filled with liars and cheats

Perhaps you’ve heard about the so-called “blue zones”—locations where humans are more likely to live longer due to lifestyle, diet, and other factors. Blue zones Read More

“Matt and Jeni Are Unprepared” – Take 3

On Friday night, my friend and fellow storyteller Jeni Bonaldo and I performed our third installment of “Matt and Jeni Are Unprepared” — a storytelling Read More

The only thing I could do

I’m sitting in seat H1 as the lights come up for intermission for “Jekyll and Hyde” at the Hartford Stage. Mr. Hyde has just committed Read More

I found the helpers

Wednesday was a difficult day for me. Difficult for many people, I suspect. I only slept two or three hours before rising around 3:30, having Read More