Everywhere I go, there’s a top ten list. “Top 10 Ways to Make Your Sneakers Smell Fresh,” “Top 10 Ways to Declutter.” As an stodgy history writer, I decried the top ten list for the longest time. Now I write them. “What? People have such short attention spans they can’t even read a paragraph?” I’d say in…
Carrying People Through The Sand
There is a story that runs over and over again in many different forms called “Footprints.” It’s about a person walking in the sand with God. You see the footprints. Two sets of footprints, and then, at times, just one. The person laments to God, “God…these are the times in my life when things were most difficult….
High School Loser Gets Second Crack at Prom
A fellow teacher tweeted that she had a great time prepping students for prom, and that she had a happy crew. Prom. That magical time in high school when people without boyfriends get cast aside wondering whether or not to buy a dress. I wanted to skip it altogether. Eventually, I caved in to the peer pressure….
Rhode Island Culture Lesson 1: Giving–Good. Bribery–Bad.
In the blink of an eye, comes a new day. It seems I have just put my head down upon the pillow, swirled some dreams around for a moment, and it’s time to start again. Each day starts like this. Each day ends in the same way…so very quickly. Each holding its own promise, like a little…
Ripping Chicken Carcasses for Luck
It was lying on the counter. A wishbone. A small, dried wishbone from the roasted chicken my mother sent over a couple of days before. My husband saved it and left it on the counter. There it sat–dried. Waiting for a wish. There was a list of things to wish. I could wish for the usual “health, wealth,…
Hoodies will get you extra points
I think that computers and start ups are the only fields where looking like crap scores you points. Actually, it seems to be a badge of honor. No one wears a suit jacket. The guy with the suit jacket sticks out. Everyone wears a hoodie. I brought my one hoodie–my Grockit hoodie sent all the way from…
Birds Don’t Go to Meetings
Driving down the road, I see a flock of birds in the sky. A flock of about 150 birds. So many birds, it’s like a giant cloud, except there is so much more grace and beauty. They sail on the wind–all flying together. Changing directions, zigzagging. In general, it should be a mess. Yet they all change…
“Only Savants Have the Right Answer All the Time” (Chess: Part Two)
Chess Story Two: Chess and Improv A student of mine, Karim, called to tell me some things about his acting career. Karim is not a student, technically. He’s three years away from 30. If he were still a student, he’d be in deep trouble. He called to tell me he had just conversed with a famous actor…
Be Brief. Be Seated–The Art of Shutting Up.
Geoff Talbot’s blog, Seven Sentences , was the first thing I read today. His goal–inspiring the world daily in just seven sentences. Brilliant. I am the opposite of “seven sentences.” I’m “seven million sentences.” I look at what I wrote and say, “Holy crap! That’s long.” The monkey inside my mind laughs, and we fight. I win,…
Just Getting Comfortable
I recently spoke with a new blogger. I was honored. First, that anyone would want my opinion, and second, that she liked my blog. This woman is going to be a superstar. Her material is great, yet she kept apologizing. “Well, I’m new. I don’t know much.” As I listened, I could see all her careers, experience,…