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WRITING PARTNERS? CHOOSE CAREFULLY

Two nights ago I watch Hamnet from the blue velvet couch with July 4th coming around the bend. It’s about Shakespeare, which isn’t a spoiler. One of the more helpful movie openings, it explained early that Hamnet and Hamet are the same name. The same. So I was set. Hamnet it is.

MY TOP JULY FOURTH: 1976

In 1976 July Fourth found me living in Philadelphia, of all places. I was standing in the audience listening to President Ford address the nation from the Liberty Bell. I was a regular Army private two months from being discharged after two years. My uncle, a career Marine, was with me. It felt different than […]

PIECES OF A LIFE TOGETHER, AND ‘THE PAST’

If you spend enough time with someone you may eventually get the feeling of living a life, of sharing a life, together. With that in mind, why wait until the last minute to get, or give, the flowers. Is there a plan for how to do that? How do two people put those pieces together? […]

THE CUVEE PROM PLAN: TUXEDO REQURIED

The Cuvee prom plan works when the star align: A birthday? An anniversary? A retirement? Combine all three and it’s time to break out the tuxedo? Yes, it’s time.

WALK THAT LONESOME VALLEY, OR BABY SHARK, PICK ONE

You know you’ve got to walk that lonesome valley. That’s just how it is. The part about walking it by yourself? I’m not so sure about that. I tried walking it by myself and got pretty far, even though I wasn’t alone. Technically.

THE PROPER PERSPECTIVE TO WRITING AN EVERYDAY BLOG

An everyday blog is just what it sounds like: Every. Day. Like most things worth pursuing, it takes tenacity and creativity to make something worth writing into something worth reading. No problem, write. Right? But, there’s more.

BEING USEFUL LIKE ROBERT FULGHUM

This isn’t Robert Fulghum, it’s me being useful in my Robert Fulghum beard which has gone the way of every beard that dared show itself on my face. He is probably a better beard steward than me. My enthusiasm for grooming an extra pet in the house lasts about six months. The last dog lived […]

FARMING DISASTER DONE ON PURPOSE

So much of the awful results of the farming disaster in the old Soviet Union came from bad policy decisions. In the early 1930’s their main guy Stalin decided he knew more about science and farming than anyone. He also had advisers explaining it to him in a way he agreed with. Who doesn’t love […]

AUDIENCE RECOGNITION: KNOW THE ROOM

Albert Einstein had audience recognition with his letter in 1939. His audience? Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States. He knew the room. It was one person.

BETTER LISTENING SKILLS FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING

If practicing better listening skills isn’t a life goal, it should be. How hard is it to pay attention? You did it in the classroom with the encouragement of a teacher. I still remember Mr. Kraus singing ‘Toot toot tootsie goodbye’ when he tossed little tootsie rolls to students with the right answer in algebra. […]