The idea of learning leadership begins the first time you do what you are told to do. Usually it starts with a mom or a dad. If not them, maybe a teacher or coach. If it happens to be some jackass in the neighborhood a few years older, then it’s going to be a defective […]
MUSIC MUSEUM WILD MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
April 23, 2019 by
What came before bagpipes in music museum? Is it the ‘goat pipe?’ Maybe the ‘dog pipe?’ Which ever it was, I didn’t get to hear how they sounded. The Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale AZ isn’t for the timid. Music minded people throughout the ages learned to improvise. Like Elvis singing Jailhouse Rock where inmates […]
MARRIAGE BRIDGES GENERATIONS WHO JOIN
April 2, 2019 by
What’s the best way to give newly weds the sort of advice they’ll need for a future together in marriage? After the vows and rings, who is best equipped to deliver the last word in marriage? Since weddings are so hectic it all turns into a blur of fiends and family, near and far, young […]
CAREGIVING EXCERPT FROM WORK IN PROGRESS
March 22, 2019 by
My caregiving days ended the morning I came downstairs and found Ken laying still in his hospital bed. Very still. I was suspicious. A large red circle nearly two feet in diameter stained the bedspread drawn up to his chin. What. The. F?
WRITE A BOOK, THEY SAID, IT’LL BE FUN
January 17, 2019 by
Long form writing is like a walk in the woods with no map. In the dark. With animal noises. And cliffs on both sides of the trail. If that isn’t a picture of adventure, what is? And all you need to do is sit down and write. And stay down. For a long […]
Continental Divide: A Place Not An Attitude
August 9, 2018 by
Since I was in the neighborhood I kept a look out for this sign: Continental Divide. It goes one way or the other. Water follows the path of least resistance? That’s the story. One side drains to the east, the other to the west. That’s lots of drainage and it starts with […]
EXTRA ROOM AIRPLANE SEATS? FOR WHO?
June 26, 2018 by
From the crowds I’ve seen at airports, people have learned to negotiate the hurdles. With the hope of not being the only old and confused passenger, OCP, I pay attention. Walk up to a screen near the airline you’re flying and key in the info you copied at home from a confirmation email […]
MARRIED LANDSCAPE WINNING TACTICS
June 12, 2018 by
We play a game at my house called, “I’ll hire the ___ if you can’t do it.” I like to think it comes with being married to the right person, a visionary. Fill in the blank with electrician, plumber, carpenter, landscape crew. As long as husband isn’t on the list there’s […]
FAMILY SHAME HELPS A GROWN MAN SCHEDULE CHECK UP
February 4, 2018 by
In a traditional wedding picture there’s a couple staring at the camera with faces radiating the joy of the day. It’s a look of happiness as they look forward to the rest of their lives together. Getting married is more than a date, it’s a roll of the dice on the long […]
SHARING EARTH WITH LIVING THINGS, EVEN THE CREEPY ONES
December 31, 2017 by
“Quick, where’s my camera?” he said. “What?” she said. “Birds.” “Camera? Here it is.” “These birds are huge. Look at that formation.” “What are they?” “Birds. Really big birds. What are they?” “I don’t know.” “You don’t know these birds? Since when would you even admit it?”
