In Common

Trees in fog

Things are tough out there.

I’m seeing a lot of pain in people, doing more therapy than career coaching.

People are having the rug pulled out from under them, people who never thought they’d be the ones getting hit.

Layoffs to fix balance sheets.

Strikes to balance paych… Read more...

Coworkers

supermarket cart on aisle

I sensed the clerk at the grocery store wasn’t much up for talking, so I grabbed some bags and started bagging.

Beep beep.

Bag bag.

We got into a rhythm like two strangers picking up instruments on the corner.

No words.

Beep Beep.

Bag bag.

His coworker came by, and I was given the… 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...

Scarcity & Community

Outside bookstore to swap books

Scarcity, such a beloved virtue, creates the need for Community.

When we look to our neighbors for the things we don’t have, we step outside of our walled worlds and open our hands. So much is possible between two people with open hands! It’s through these small gestur… Read more...

The Troll Game

Attentive boy sitting on bed and playing card game at home

I agreed to play 30 consecutive games of Castle Mania with Hazel, or “The Troll Game” as we call it. (She had advocated for 50 games but I talked her down.)

Castle Mania is a simple but surprisingly suspenseful card game where you team up with each other to prevent a p… Read more...

The Ones Not In The Room

Solo porque quiero

Most of us are haters, though we hate to admit it.

We are so quick to hate someone outside the room.

We’re particularly good at this when the person outside the room has wronged a person inside the room.

And we’re bonafide pros at hating when the person inside the room i… Read more...

The Gender Unicorn

I struggle with the new language of gender.

How can one person be a “They.” It don’t square.

I’m an English major. Grammar is God.

But as I make my glued-together argument to preserve the language of my grandfather…

Half the world’s population is gRead more...

Moments Like These

yellow banana fruits on pink surface

Boat trips, hotel suites, and private beaches are nice but it’s moments like these that make my heart full and put me at ease.

ACT 1:

[Husband and wife in kitchen, standing around table.]

I guess we could make the salmon.

Yeah, it’s gonna go bad.

[Man pulls out salmon. Put… Read more...