Cross-Examined

Judge signing on the papers

Years ago, I was in court testifying for a friend, and the defense attorney was doing his thing: trying like hell to discredit me. (Good luck with that, bruh.)

“So you’re saying you drank some beer and smoked a few bowls.”

He said this in a lazy faux-SoCal sort of… Read more...

How We Deal With Road Rage

Screaming blurry face

I sometimes read Quora to find out where job seekers’ heads are at and to read stories of human kindness, particularly among strangers.

One such story involved a woman’s victory over road rage.

Something happened out there on the road, and a man pulled in next to her in… Read more...

Picking Out Images

Man in black suit jacket holding black leather bag

You can learn a lot about humanity when picking out images for your blog.

Plug in the word “kind” and you’ll see a bunch of people with animals.
(Hey! What about people with people?)

Put in “listen” and you get a bunch of people with headphones
(the exac… Read more...

An Integrated School, Sort Of

Abstract wallpaper

Evaline’s big play was last night, and her sister and I laughed through the whole thing.

But the best part, at least for this parent, was that moment afterward: watching all the actors and production crew buzz around in front of the stage, hugging each other, cracking jokes,… Read more...

Finishing Dreams

Child walking on grass path

Whether good or bad,

dreams get into us.

We’ve all had the experience of waking up

or being woken up

in the middle of a dream,

forced to put that dream aside

for reality.

Incomplete dreams are like incomplete conversations,

a puzzle still in pieces.

Freud called them unfulfilled wis… Read more...

The Fire in 7th Grade

7th grade interview about a fire

My friend found old news footage of a fire in our 7th-grade classroom. The teacher, one of my favorites, was trying to take chlorophyll out of a leaf. Alcohol got on the hot plate and, BOOM, big explosion.

In the newscast, after some panning shots of the charred classroom, the re… Read more...

Burnout’s Nemesis

brown and white cigarette stick

Burnout is real.

And he can sneak up on you quick, disheveled and in a bandit’s mask.

At first, you won’t notice him; you’ve been too busy, that’s how he slips in.

And once he sat down at your workspace, he wouldn’t leave, not of his own accord anyway. … Read more...

Utter Joy

Green grass field under white clouds

What else can you call it?

Hazel’s been lucky enough to have after-school care by Temescal Lake, a modest lake with a beach and trees all around. Her child care program meets in a raised meadow that overlooks the lake.

It’s right next to a freeway, but you can’t s… Read more...