I spent this past weekend at the beach. I love being near the ocean. I like walking near water. I think differently when I’m near the water. It was a nice, but all too short, getaway. I snapped a decent picture on Sunday morning before the beach was crowded – when the only people on…
Category: Dear Diary
Unsettled and Under the Weather
Today’s post (Saturday morning) is brought to you by the letters u, g, g, g, h, h, and the number 45 – as in for a solid 45 minutes, I was paralyzed with indecision and feeling a whole lot of uggghh. For starters, I’m feeling a little sick. It’s that scratchy throat, stuffy nose, something…
The Middle of the Day
Nothing happens in the middle of the day. People talk about being a morning person or a night person, but I never hear anyone say, “I’m a solid 11 – 4 type of guy.” “I’ll take a quality 1:37 pm on a Tuesday over anything else.” I don’t know, maybe there’s a missed opportunity in…
Two Weeks of Contemplation
Last week I was asked if I would be interested in a job with my old team. I was flattered. I have tremendous respect for my former colleagues – I really liked working with them. They are some of the best people I’ve ever worked with. The organization is growing and doing lots of good…
June 16, 2018
Four years ago I went on a first date that ended up changing the course of what I consider to be my second adult life. I suppose if I take a butterfly effect view of life, I could argue that I’ve gone on lots of first dates that changed the course of my life –…
Save the Cats
The piece of papery trash swirling under the car in front of me emerged from the shadow of the undercarriage. A black and white kitten stumbled and spun, stumbled and spun. I swerved to the right to avoid hitting it. I straddled it between my tires and quickly passed over it. In my rear view…
Birdsong in the Morning
A wall of gray clouds advances like a column of soldiers on parade marching down the wide boulevard of sky. It’s been threatening to rain the way summer days threaten rain. The dog was good on our morning walk. He ignored other dogs, and even walked closely by a rabbit and didn’t try to chase….
Other Exits
Last night I had a dream that I was staying at an airbnb – somewhere warm, near a beach, a place with very white walls. I bought and started to install a ceiling fan, but after drilling a sizable hole in the slightly slanted ceiling above the bed, and partially installing the fan, I realized…
Slow Walk to the Edge of Admission
Friday Morning
During one of my earlier quiet phases – one of those one- or two-week unintentional hiatuses from writing when I wasn’t sure what the point was or just felt tired and confused
A Warm Day and a Tight Leash
It’s not often that I get to say that it’s a gorgeous morning here in State College. Just a week ago we got 2-3 inches of snow. Yesterday started off cold and gray and rainy. Today feels like the type of day I have been waiting for for weeks. I’ve been sitting in the morning…
April Sunshine, Wednesday Afternoon
My neighbor is older – maybe in his 70s. He gets around fine. He still mows his lawn. His white t-shirt hangs off of hunched and thin shoulders. His hair is white and he usually wears a ball cap. His name is Tom, but it could just as well be John or Dave or Hank….
Crabs in a Bucket
She waited for a break in the conversation to jump in and attack. I had been explaining a tax return (as best as I can) to her friend or partner, but hadn’t gotten very far in my explanation before she wagged her finger towards me. She demanded to know why she didn’t get a certain…