Everyday Meaning

View of the rock in the ocean

I got lucky. Or the opposite.

Whatever… I’ve created a mechanism that draws people to me who are in a dilemma and ready for something new.

And they ask me with the passion and wonder of a child shouting to the ocean,

“What should I do?”

What a gift: to be brou… Read more...

Changing The Color of Shadows

Taken from the Sky Lift at the WI State Fair, August 2017

What good are opinions?

When you stop to think about it, they’re for the opiner more than anyone, a way to say, “I’m here.”

But it’s more than that.

When I hear people giving their opinion, the refrain I hear in my head is usually one of two things:

RRead more...

Umbilical Cord

Girl riding bike in the middle of the road during day

When Evaline was a kid, I took her down to Jack London Square where the pavement runs straight for a good half mile. We brought her bike, which she barely wanted to touch, hadn’t touched since we got it.

It was early enough that there weren’t many people out, just us a… Read more...

There Are Good People Everywhere

landscape photography of seashore during daytime

There are good people everywhere.

Better than that.

Everyone is changing,

like the glint of the sun reflected on the ocean:

a thousand slivers of light

wiggling gently

taking shape,

disbanding,

coming back together,

And, each one of us,

A god for all the others.

With the vibrations in our v… Read more...

How I Came To Be

Painted Ripples

In 9th grade, I was generously forced into journaling by my English teacher. In college, I eventually found my way into a short-fiction class, and was sold. I wrote all the time, was working on stories all the time, daydreaming about my characters, while real-world people talked … Read more...

Squeakers & Non Squeakers

Portrait photo of smiling man in black real madrid printed t shirt posing with his thumbs up

They say the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

I guess that means I get no oil.

That’s okay.

When I’m looking for a gutter cleaner or a floor refinisher, I try and be as nice and accomodating as possible.

Have to call me back? No problem. Can’t fit me in this week? That&#… 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...

Saying It Out Loud

Little child offering flowers to his mom

The people that you love, they know you love them.

But for some reason, no matter how well you know them or how long you’ve lived with them, saying those words out loud is like a lightning bolt to the heart.

I’m not talking about the “I love you” at the end … Read more...

Poodles & Passersby

A poodle hopping in the grass

To me, from a car window:

Hey, is that a poodle?

I had just got back from the lake. It was 6pm, dark, I had on my mask and my headphones, listening to a podcast of my favorite French marriage counselor.

Like most people on walks during a pandemic, I was deep into my internal world. … Read more...

Stereotypes

Faceless woman with cardboard box on head against pond

Stereotypes put people in boxes.

When you act on a stereotype, you’re making assumptions based on your ideas about the group you think they belong to. By limiting who they can be before you actually meet them, you’re limiting what you both can gain.

That’s right, … Read more...