Hitting the Wall

I’ve often stated something like, “she/he won’t really learn this lesson until they hit the wall.” In other words, you can say it 55 times, but somehow, there’s a lead-lined box around the judgment or conscience of the intended audience, and only by getting smacked upside-the-head by some circumstance will the truth finally sink in.
I [...]

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Bad Parents!!

One of the disadvantages of living in our hyper-networked world is that many of our mistakes are captured and magnified. And when something disastrous (or nearly so) happens to a child, there tends to be a knee-jerk reaction on the part of some to condemn the parents, even before knowing the facts.
Bad parents!
It’s likely that [...]

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Known

Seth Godin wrote an intriguing little post yesterday, on the theme, “Notice me.” It is certainly true that we will go to extraordinary lengths to be noticed by others, to gain attention.
But I think the true need is much deeper. We want to be known. And not merely known, but valued and loved even when [...]

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Weariness

Found myself thinking about weariness last night. Not just the tiredness of a long day, or the exhaustion of a long gym workout. I’m talking about the long-term weariness that comes from labors of love that seem to have no end. Sowing, watering, weeding, cultivating, pruning…sometimes the reward seems very far away, while the labor [...]

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Why I Plan to Vote for Chris Daggett for NJ Governor

Let me begin by saying that I very rarely make public any voting choices that I make, especially in advance. And, generally speaking, I vote for the candidate that most closely reflects my principles (what are those? -see this post from a year ago on Principled Independent Patriots, or PIPs).
I’m going to make an exception [...]

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The Old Man and the Mountain

It (he?) was the iconic symbol of New Hampshire. The craggy stone outcropping that looked like a person’s head – the Old Man of the Mountain. Unfortunately, like all old folks, this stony icon eventually collapsed (in 2003), but for years no visit to Franconia Notch in the White Mountains was complete without checking up [...]

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Pruning

Yesterday, while at Mom’s in Connecticut, I looked out at the backyard to see the pin oak which, on my last visit, lost a number of lower branches to sweat and saw.
You see, pin oak branches like to grow downward. So, to remove the one that is brushing your head with leaves as you walk [...]

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