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A MERRY CHRISTMAS LOOKS LIKE:

  Johnny looks ready for some merriment? Or:

NEW STORY PROBLEMS? CHANGE THE SETTING

New story problems are like cooking a chicken. You know how you’d like it to turn out, but that’s not how it always works. When it’s your Christmas story, and it’s December 24th, you’ve got work to do. Start with your story.

HOW OLD IS ‘OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER?’

How old were you when you first heard it? My memory says I was a seven year old who couldn’t field a grounder after my last ‘bad hop’ bounced off my face. I wasn’t technically afraid of the ball, except I was afraid of what the ball might do. When one of the baseball fields […]

CHRISTMAS CONTRAST: LONGEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR

A Christmas contrast happens every year. Whenever some adult says, “I remember when I was a kid. Christmas was different,” is just the start. Different? Compared to what? Was Christmas nicer?

SHORTEST DAY, LONGEST NIGHT . . . AGAIN

Today is the shortest day of the year? If that’s true, then the shortest day follows the longest night, or tonight is the longest night. There’s got to be some kind of astrological meaning, but I don’t know. What I do know is the night before Christmas used to last what felt like a week. […]

TRUE JOY, A COMPENDIUM

Who thinks of true joy as the day your parents permitted you to ride your bike to your pals house a couple of streets over? They trusted you because you demonstrated proficiency on your street. Now you were one of the big guys. When you got that first bike you wanted to ride it everywhere. […]

ARNOLD RULES FROM TWITTER: YOU SHOULD . . .

The Arnold Rules are an encouraging list of what to do for a better life. If a better life sounds like something you’d like to try, something you’d like to model by example, Arnold is here to help. Could Arnold be a better man, a better person? He’s trying. Maybe you could try, too? In […]

CHRISTMAS HOF: THE COUNTDOWN

The Christmas HOF, or Hall of Fame, began when your dad gave your mom a new car wrapped in a big bow? That didn’t happen where I grew up. The new car back then was a 1968 Volkswagen camper for a family that rarely camped. But it had its usefulness. Eventually. There’s nothing like pulling […]

IMPOSTER SYNDROME FOR THE TROPHY WIN

Just when you find a new celebrity crush, whether movie star, sports star, or blogger, they come out with imposter syndrome. They are in complete control of their medium, whether film, field, or the page, at least that’s what you think. Then you learn they are normal people with normal anxieties. Who knew the rich […]

DO PORTLAND CHRISTMAS LIKE A THREE YEAR OLD

A Portland Christmas goes one of two ways: “I will never set foot in that hell-hole.” Or? Peacock Lane? Let’s go.”