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...

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...

The Wakeups

Morning Sunrise Over the Mountain

I tend to wake up with a song in my head. Usually a pop song. Not a slow one, a fast one usually. I bop my head to it while I go to the bathroom.

I wonder what it’d be like to sing it out loud. I’m thinking it would perfect, like filling a glass of fruit punch all the … Read more...

Slow Talker

close-up photography of human feet on brown sand during daytime

An ex-girlfriend once said to me that my voice makes her want to lie down.

(I guess that can be taken several ways.)

From what I can tell, she meant my voice relaxes her.

Total compliment.

But there are drawbacks to eliciting relaxation. I notice sometimes when I talk to people, they… Read more...