Quandry
Stop complaining. It’s killing you. It’s killing us, too.
A friend recently sent me me a piece on the hazards of complaining. They are extensive. The more you complain, the more likely you are to choose negative over positive thinking in the long run. Remarkably, each time you complain your brain is actually physically rewiring itself, making it easier to adapt to that reaction…
Read MoreBe happy for others, damn it.
Years ago, before the kids were born, Elysha and I went to the movies. We’ve gone to the movies since the kids were born, of course, despite warnings from those rotten people who like to make parenting sound like guerrilla warfare that we never would. In fact, in the two years after our first child,…
Read MoreWhat is the meaning of life?
During the Q&A portions of my author talks, I always invite audience members to ask me challenging questions. No subject is out of bounds. The stranger the better. I even give away prizes to the most challenging questions. At a recent author talk, perhaps in an attempt to receive a prize, someone asked me “What…
Read MoreWhat is my obstacle?
I completed a questionnaire recently in preparation for a radio interview. One of the questions asked was: “What personal obstacles stand in your way from living your fully realized creative life?” I stared at the question for a long time, trying to think of what is preventing me from living my creative life to the…
Read MoreMany jobs. Many, many more dreams.
I met with a college graduate recently who told me that she doesn’t know what to do with her life. Has no career ambitions. Isn’t excited about any particular subject or field. I’ll never understand this. I find it utterly incomprehensible. I’m a person with a lot of jobs. Elementary school teacher. Author and columnist…
Read MoreWhy people think women aren’t as funny as men (maybe)
A while ago, I sat through a four hour meeting. 18 women and me. Par for the course in elementary education. An observation: About halfway through the meeting, it occurred to me that I was the only person trying to be funny. I was the only one going for the laugh. The only one speaking…
Read MoreWould you be more likely, less likely, or just as likely to marry your spouse today?
Interesting question posited by a friend recently: Would you be more likely, less likely, or just as likely to marry your spouse if you met him or her for the first time today? My friend believes that couples who were married when they were young would be less likely to marry their spouses if they…
Read MoreIf you could recover a single object from your past, what would it be?
When I was 16 years-old, I went to Pasadena, California with my high school’s marching band to perform in the Rose Bowl Parade. At the time, I had just begun dating my high school sweetheart, Laura. Laura was traveling to Pasadena, too. Though she wasn’t actually a member of the marching band, she had somehow…
Read MoreMattress PSA
I know it might seem a little odd to purchase a mattress via a homemade sign planted on the corner across the street from a gas station. And yes, the fact that the creator of this sign felt it necessary to indicate that the mattress was “Brand new!!” might also be a little disconcerting. And…
Read MorePickle smooch?
At the Olive Garden in West Hartford, CT there is a men’s restroom. Inside that men’s restroom, there is a framed photograph of a house and a tree. I’ll never understand restaurant restroom art. Why? Below that frame are two words, scribbled in pen. “Pickle smooch” Here’s what I want to know: What does this…
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