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CHOOSING SIDES: IT’S MORE THAN SHIRTS vs SKINS?

February 25, 2023 by

The secret to choosing sides? Sometimes you don’t choose, you get chosen, picked. Then you find yourself standing on one side of a line. How do you make sure it’s the best side for you when you know the other will eventually look better?

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HOPPER PAINTINGS: “YOU’VE BEEN HOPPERED”

February 24, 2023 by

Hopper paintings have turned into Bruuuce. I love both of them, but I might be done. Toooo depressing. Tooo raw. Too much of so little. To them I must bid adieu, au revoir, so long, goodbye. But first a few questions:

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SINGING ALONG, OR ALONE, BUT SING IT

February 22, 2023 by

When is the last time you were singing along with anyone outside of church? Chances are it’s been a while if you’re not churched, or not in a band. Is it because you don’t have a song to sing? We can fix that. But it’s more than lack of a song, isn’t it?

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BETTER MAN FOR WHO, FOR WHAT?

February 20, 2023 by

If someone asks you to be a better man, not their Best Man, what do you say? What do you do? You could agree to make a better effort. Or you could let it go. Either way, you’ve got a problem. Then what?

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TIME OUT FOR YOU, YOU, AND YOU

February 19, 2023 by

The first ‘time out’ I ever heard came during a grade school basketball game. Coach: Do you know who you’re supposed to be guarding? Me: No. Coach: Guard the other team, not ours. Me: Oh. Okay.

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HOPEFUL CITY, URBAN DUMP, OR BOTH

February 18, 2023 by

What makes a ‘hopeful city?’ Take Portland for example, a place other states once yearned for in their signature city. “We love Portland; we want to be Portland,” said Asheville, North Carolina. Except there are a few problems to overcome.

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SOLVING PROBLEMS ON THE PAGE IS REAL LIFE?

February 7, 2023 by

Whether you think solving problems is ‘your thing’ or not, it is. To do it the right way, start with a blank page. No, not the proverbial blank page, canvas, or slate, but a real life blank page. Call it a screen, whatever. It’s blank. Now what?

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CALM SURRENDER LIFESTYLE, AND DOG TRAINING

January 25, 2023 by

The first I’d heard of ‘calm surrender’ came from a chemo clinic nurse. I asked her what someone like me was supposed to do during cancer treatment. She said surrender calmly. I told her Gillaspie isn’t a French name. Nurse Michel was not amused, but she was right.

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DIALECT STORIES TOLD IN TONGUES

January 24, 2023 by

Based on a particular vocabulary, all stories are dialect stories. From Mark Twain to Forrest Gump, and every stop in between. But what happens when language jumps off the page with directions, or recipes, or, wait for it: Feelings?

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WRITING SUCCESS THAT DOESN’T SUCK EVERY DAY

January 23, 2023 by

Asking anyone about their writing success is like asking if they won anything on their trip to Las Vegas. Everyone’s a winner when they get back home. “Best trip ever. Paid for itself.” Along with other various and assorted bulls!t. Writing success is easier to track, easier to explain, yet still a gamble.

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