Veterans Day is for the old folks who remember their youth and those who were young with them. They remember the young people who didn’t have the chance to get old. My Dad got a chance to get old. He out-lived his Dad, just like I’m out-living him.
WRITING REWARDS YOU MISS IF YOU DON’T WRITE
Writing rewards come in flavors other than green. JD Salinger said the act of writing is reward enough. That from a guy who locked himself up for his reward. But he didn’t throw away the key.
NEW YORKER THURSDAY IN THE MAIL, A LESSON IN READING
The New Yorker magazine is my only subscription and I’m surprised how much fun it is. I actually look forward to it, which has been a surprise over the past year. I know what I’m doing on New Yorker Day:
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE? A REVIEW
A healthy lifestyle doesn’t start after you recover from a dreaded disease. Some people take illness as a reminder to step up their health routine, some ignore the whole thing. Which one is the right response? Both work, just one better than the other. But there’s that other part.
DAD DAYS TO GRANDDAD AND BEYOND
Dad days never end, and I’m glad. I didn’t sign up for the part time version. There wasn’t a switch to throw for the eighteenth birthday that said, ‘I’m done.’ I’ve been a dad since my first born, then doubled up with my second. Since then a few surprises joined up, just not those surprises.
ROCKY RELATIONSHIP WITH WRITING?
My rocky relationship with writing took a turn yesterday. It happens, but this one was avoidable. Boomerpdx was offline for ten hours. The longest ten hours of my . . . not my life. I just did other writer things. What writer things?
LIVING THAT NEW LIFE
A new life is more than losing weight and getting a tan. More than new shoes and low socks. More than a gold chain and a green neck. What’s the new life deal this time?
LIFELONG LEARNING? WHEN DOES IT END
Lifelong learning is a goal, or should be a goal. Do it right and you’ll always have a motherlode of regret: “If I only knew then what I know now.” Call it what it is: continuing education. And it’s never over.