There’s just something about incense. I realize that may sound strange from a middle-age man who is neither a Reiki practitioner, nor a musician, nor a Tarot card reader. I’m not even sure when I started appreciating a thick haze of aloeswood in my study. Incense, with its evocative fragrances, has the power to call … Continue reading What Life Smells Like These Days
I had spent most of the morning working on my novel, living inside the bell jar of my own, strange imagination. At some point, I went to fetch my phone from the family room. As I did, I spotted an airy tuft of cat fur on the hardwood floor, just lallygagging there like a tiny … Continue reading Glitter Glue and Just Slowing Down
A few weeks ago, I did an interview with sports anchor and overall great guy Vic Lombardi at Denver's Altitude Sports. Vic is a 50 year-old prostate cancer survivor who is using his celebrity to raise awareness of this nasty disease. Don Sims, an ultra-marathoner from Denver, joined us—incredibly—the same morning he had his catheter … Continue reading Talking Prostate Cancer With Vic Lombardi at Altitude Sports
My brother-in-law turned me on to this great segment with actor Jeff Goldblum talking about what keeps him inspired. Turns out, it's an incredible quote from George Bernard Shaw. Thought I'd share since it's become shamefully uncommon to hear people talk about privileging community over self, and other high-minded ideas like that. Enjoy. https://youtu.be/wiXJXxJ4PQ0
Well, I’ll be goddamned. I’m a social justice warrior. I had no idea this was the case until a guy posted an SJW meme on one of my blog posts. The fact is, until I saw the meme, titled “Anatomy of an SJW,” I didn’t know what the hell it stood for. I want to … Continue reading Suck it Up, Guys, or Post It on Facebook
My daughter makes a point of being the first person to “like” my new blog posts. I freely admit that I await with eagerness the WordPress notification that she hit the button. She’s a rising senior in college in New York City, and her two summer jobs keep her busy; so these days she reads … Continue reading Blogging to Complicate Yourself
The release of my book Midpoint this week resulted in some old friends reaching out to ask how I’m feeling eighteen months after undergoing surgery for stage-3 prostate cancer. The book ends with my checking results from my first postoperative PSA test in March, 2018. For people I don’t see often, that would be their … Continue reading Each Time, A Little More Composure
Despite those moments of stillness when I notice, almost accidentally, the slow sway of the fir branch, or the gray spider moving along the windowsill, life most often feels like a headlong sprint. When we’re young, time’s advance doesn’t trouble us: It carries us reassuringly toward maturity—meeting that girl at the football game, getting a … Continue reading Defiant Spaces
People who insist on backing their cars into parking spaces drive me nuts. On any given day, when I’m circling around the YMCA parking lot, I have to wait while some guy in a pickup the size of a Panzer tank backs into his spot. At that point, I remark to my wife something like, … Continue reading Against Caring
