Category: BLOG

89% perfect. This little observation starts with WWII and bombs. In the 40s, when we were in the thick of it, we were making all kinds of bombs, planes, tanks, torpedoes and munitions. If you recall your history, the bane of the soldier, sailor and pilot was a malfunctioning piece of equipment or “dud.” As […]

Sometimes somebody tells you something that is so astonishing, you find yourself thinking about days and weeks later- so it was when I shook the wrist of Dan Caro. I say wrist, because both of Dan’s hands are missing. When he was two years old, he was in a fire that burned eighty percent of […]

When I met with this woman it was eight years after her husband had died and she was angry. Her face was creased with frown lines and with a caustic edge to her voice she picked away at a service that was eight years in her past. And try as I might, I could not […]

When you meet someone at a funeral home, it’s hardly ever a good day. I recognized the woman I’ll call Jean immediately from a retail place I frequent – Jean works at the kind of place where they wear name tags so it’s easy to know their name and Jean is the kind of person […]

I did a TED Talk- well technically it’s a TEDx talk, which means it’s like playing in the minor leagues instead of the majors, but it’s still a pretty big deal, and I was thrilled to go. Alone. I mean why would anyone want to drive 80 to 300 miles to go see me talk […]

I was coaxing a few more inches out of an old Sharpie when my wife did the unthinkable- she threw it away! “What are you doing?!” I was aghast. “Put it back the drawer and let it heal.” And this is sad to admit- Libby is among a host of merciless judgers that throw things […]

It’s a who-you-know world, and when I lived in Mitchell, SD I knew nobody.  I landed the Velvet Touch late-night announcer gig at KORN (yes there really is a station called that) from 7pm to 1am. My instructors at Brown Institute told me I could get a job anywhere, but that I had to start […]

Here are the symptoms for the Parents of Teenagers: Smart mouth, whiny, lethargic, stays up late, sleeps in later, sulks around the house, avoids eye contact, argumentative, drags feet when asked to help with chores no matter how menial.   Sounds familiar?   Here is the disease: They feel worthless.   And here is the […]

Now that Spring is here I have ended the annual argument with my wife Libby that comes with Winter: Why not get a snow blower? Others have weighed in as well. A snow blower is a fast and easy way to rid my 175-foot driveway and various other walkways from snow. And each year I […]

I was interviewing a wood carver named Fred Cogelow- this has been about 25 years ago.  If you Google his name, you can see some of his stuff. Not the normal buffalo-on-a-hill carvings, or native-warrior-carved-from-a-tree-trunk, but …different.  Compelling. A way to use the grain of the wood to express the emotions of the face carved- if […]