Tag: I LIKE THAT STORY

Harold was about 80 and was recounting a truth to me that I have heard about 100 times. It’s the truth I call The Shape of Life and it starts with his story: Harold fell in love with Agnes and the truth was, she was a piece of work. High strung, high tempered, high maintenance. […]

It was a year ago, February 4th. The group of men were gathered around the TV looking shocked and forlorn. I couldn’t see the screen but was imagining some sort of horrible breaking news story. I elbowed my way to closer look at the screen. It was a sports channel showing Super Bowl highlights. “What’s […]

A few years ago, a buddy of mine spent a winter at his in-laws’ cabin—all winter. In a cabin. We’re talking a wood stove, log walls and a constant all-day long fight to stay warm. “I mean, I would spend a solid four hours a day, either cutting wood, hauling wood, splitting wood, hauling ashes, […]

Memories are funny. Some you recall almost daily. But other times an event or circumstance triggers a forgotten memory from childhood that you unpack with delight like a treasure trunk in an attic—like the time my sister made the Christmas dress for Mom. I think she was nine years old. She had just taken her […]

Here’s an opening question. What is the right amount of failure? If you say, zero—well that reminds me of playing tic-tac-toe, a game that any 8-year-old can play and never lose. A game so boring that no one likes to play it. And of course, a game can’t be impossible to win or we would never […]

It was a Wednesday and I was finishing up a cup of coffee at the coffee shop. One of the guys who is a regular was heading out, too. I asked if he was looking forward to enjoying some great fall weather. “Nah, not this week,” he said. “I’m closing up at the store for […]

Three conversations about quitting in the past day has got me thinking on the topic. 1. The guy was in tough shape—hospitalized, breathing hard and in some pain. The doctor was as blunt as a guy trying to save a life can be. “It’s simple. You have to quit smoking. Now. You have to lose […]

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 […]