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REGRET FREE LIVING? OK BOOMER

Regret free living is a goal to start out, then things change. One day anything is possible. The next? Not so much. Somehow we learn about our limitations, that we need to accept things as they are. But, correct me if I’m wrong, there’s still some wiggle room.

RIGHT THING? YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IT

Doing the ‘right thing’ used to be easier. Maybe is was because baby boomers didn’t have as many choices for doing wrong? I didn’t see a lot of choices besides ‘Do what you’re told’ growing up. From parents, to teachers, to coaches, scout leaders, and beyond, we were told what to do by people we […]

GIVING UP, BUT NOT A QUITTER?

Giving up is different than quitting. Really. Quitting means done, all over, finished. The Day I Quit. Giving up is a longer process. One is a reaction, the other a journey. Who’s got the map?

CLEAR DOWN RANGE NEW MEANING

The first time I heard the call of “CLEAR DOWN RANGE” I was laying in the dirt with the guys, Fort Ord dirt, and trying to fit three bullets inside the diameter of a quarter. The best I got was two in with a stray nearby. The rifle range targets were a head and shoulder […]

HEALTH JOURNEY ON A ROUGH ROAD

A ‘health journey’ is a phrase used by people with lots of doctor appointments. If you’re old enough you either take that rough road yourself, or you show up for others on it. Personally, I’ve never liked the term. I like it even less when it applies to young people coming down with old people […]

PERFORMANCE PRESSURE SELF INFLICTED

Performance pressure starts with doubt. Will you be good enough? Have you trained to win? Can you do it? These are the same questions asked when people decide to get married.

HALL OF FAME: WHICH ONE IS FOR YOU

A Hall of Fame career deserves to be enshrined in a place of honor. Why? So others can see their accomplishments and try to copy them? That’s partly correct until you start learning more about the people. A great player doesn’t always mean a good person. But why limit inductions for only sports?

WRITING ROOTS: HOW DEEP DO THEY GROW

Writing roots are reading roots. Everybody knows that from their first grade if they had a teacher as good as Mrs. Baker. I recall her saying, ‘Our writing is a reflection of our reading.’ I believed it then as I believe it now. (Folding a corner to mark my place in Patrick DeWitt’s novel The […]

MICRO MEMOIR II: LEAVING TOWN CHRISTMAS PARTY

Leaving town used to be easy, if I remember right. Pack a bag, get in a car, hop on bus, and leave. “I’ll be there in a few days.” Same story going out to Brooklyn as leaving:

TOYOTA HIGHLANDER FOR LIFE?

I owned a Toyota Highlander, but it didn’t start that way. Somehow the wife and I went to a car dealership traded a van and ended up with a Rav4. She decided it was the worst car ever since I insisted on the barebones cheapest version. By the time we got home I knew it […]