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Rich vs. wealthy
In the debate of time versus money, simply ask yourself this: Would you rather be 91 year-old Warren Buffett, whose net worth exceeds $124 billion, or yourself? I suspect that unless you’re close to Buffett’s age, you’d choose yourself, because time is almost always far more valuable than money. Similarly, I like this graphic a…
Read MoreAn unexpected night with the Sea Unicorns
When Charlie’s Cub Scout troop announced an evening at the Norwich Sea Unicorn’s game at Dodd Stadium, I was not excited. I hoped that Charlie had not heard the announcement or did not care to attend. We live about ten minutes from Dunkin Donuts Stadium, home of the Hartford Yard Goats. The stadium is brand…
Read MoreMy great grandmother!
Someone posted this photo on a Facebook page dedicated to my hometown of Blackstone, Massachusetts. Along with it was an image of the back of the photo, which listed the people in the photograph. Included in this bunch is my great grandmother, Hilda Dicks. Can you guess which one? She’s standing front row center. Dark…
Read MoreThe Catholic Church doesn’t get to say this to children anymore
The students at Nativity School, a predominantly Black Catholic middle school in Worcester, MA, resoundingly expressed their wishes back in January 2021: They wanted to fly a Black Lives Matter and a Pride flag over their school to signal inclusivity. More than a year later, however, Bishop Robert McManus of the Diocese of Worcester told…
Read MoreThis is what teachers want, need, and deserve, as uncomfortable as it might make some feel
It’s a challenging time to be a teacher. Coming off three years of teaching in a pandemic, children have enormous social, emotional, and academic needs. Many are struggling with trauma, the effects of prolonged isolation, and grief. Teachers, too. For many of us, while our friends have been working remotely or in highly mitigated environments,…
Read MoreLearned from my mistake
On Tuesday night, I was in Boston while Charlie played in his first playoff game of the season. I was sitting in the audience at a Moth StorySLAM, waiting for my name to be called. A client based in Boston knew that I had planned to attend the slam and wanted to finally meet me…
Read MoreCrayons
It’s not a restaurant’s primary or even secondary responsibility to provide crayons to its patrons, but when you’re kind enough to offer crayons to children, it takes almost no effort to get it right. This is why Charlie was astounded by the selection of crayons offered to him last weekend: Nine in total. Five different…
Read MoreCowards
On Saturday 31 members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front were arrested near an Idaho pride event after they were found packed into the back of a U-Haul truck with riot gear. The men were standing inside the truck – faces covered by white balaclavas – when Coeur d’Alene police stopped the U-Haul and…
Read MorePositive in any way possible
We need as much positivity in our lives as we can muster. Sadly, our brains retain and overvalue negative feedback over positive feedback, so we require about six positive statements to counteract one negative statement. That is an incredibly difficult ratio to achieve. Added to this unfortunate biological truth are all the haters in our…
Read MoreJudges with the temperaments of children should not be judges
In a 4-3 decision at the Ohio Supreme Court, a judge’s decision to add six more years to a person’s sentence after the individual called them a “racist ass bitch” during sentencing was deemed unjustified and has been reversed. The defendant, Manson Bryant, was convicted of aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery and initially was sentenced…
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