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Friendship, our most valuable of gifts to another person, requires active participation. As kids, our friends were generally the kids on the same block or neighborhood. And when we went off to school, our pool of friends expanded to kids we didn’t even know where they lived. Then came the stage where we could drive — growing our pool ever further. After that came adulthood, and overnight, the world was our …

Marriage, Love, And Those Quiet Moments My friend is a big man by any measure. But more importantly, his physical status is dwarfed by the size of his heart. His daughter is getting married next week. He and I are on each other's short list of oldest long-term friends. My not-yet-wife at the time and I attended his wedding; he joined me at the alter a year later as a groomsman …

After more than 2-years, the covid virus finally caught up with me. What a difference a couple of years makes. After masking, keeping bottles of hand sanitizer in cupholders, and being cautious around large groups, the virus bit me as suddenly and angrily as a pissed-off wasp. But today, I'm better – and I am thankful. No fun was the best way to describe my experience. The virus slammed me with …

Teenager students holding jobs continue to the background like vinyl tops on automobiles and the number two pencil used to rewind your favorite cassette tape. According to Statista, the number of students employed while also attending school continues to drop – pandemic or no pandemic. Thirty-one percent of students held jobs in 1998 compared to 19.4 percent in 2019 (I'm omitting the 17.6 pandemic number for comparison). The days of afterschool …

I am beginning to believe my dog knows me better than I do. Dogs are simply remarkable creatures. My canine soulmate, Luna, is a cross between a Scottish border collie and an Australian Kelpie – each breed harboring more energy than a toddler spinning out of control after a discovered box of sugary Pop-Tarts. Luna operates with two speeds – both marginally different versions of overdrive. Only when her eyelids close, …

Well, that was fun. Watching 2021 fade into the past comes with mixed feelings. But in the end, the lessons learned from the massively disruptive and soul-crunching 2020 helped me better navigate the following twelve months. Surprisingly, 2020 changed me to the core – and in most ways, for the better. My wife is a remarkably creative soul. She keeps a small chalkboard sitting on the countertop in the kitchen, where she creates and displays a theme or family …

The licking quickly got out of control. "I'm sorry," I said. "she's never met a stranger." My dog continues to lather the woman's face with kisses as if covered in peanut butter. Hotel lobbies are interesting places to meet people. And a dog at your side is like wearing a magnetized suit of armor to both adults and children. "No problem, she must have a lot of love to give," she …

"I'm sorry, but I'm backed up with work tonight, and I can't get away for dinner. I hope you understand." The words were heartfelt, honest, and delivered with great care. They were, however, spoken by my son, breaking a dinner date with my wife and me.   Harry Chapin eventually comes home to roost for all of us. I pressed the red button on the glass phone screen, ending the call. …

In case you missed the event earlier this week, the world stopped for nearly six hours.  On Tuesday, Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp went offline – along with their perceived invincibility our self-assumptive inability to live without them.  The Earth's rotation did not pause, nor did the sunset on the wrong horizon. Nor did the markets crash or birds fall from the sky. For many, instead, there was a collective shrug of 'so …

I believe in ghosts. Believing in ghosts, or spirits, was one of those peculiar habits my mother brought across the Atlantic as a 21-year old Scottish immigrant. Aside from her strange preference for ketchup and salt on her French Toast in the mornings, teaching me not to fear ghosts made her proud. "No reason to fear things that go bump in the night," she said. "They're harmless." Her voice rolled letters …

Last week I read an article discussing the difference between endurance and persistence. The author pointed out, correctly, many people use them interchangeably. Funny how sometimes we need a stranger to point out the obvious. I'll bet most of us make this mistake, even if only rationalizing to ourselves while in pain. Going through difficult times can be defined as enduring, but coming out on the other side is not necessarily …

His skin, darkened with dozens of scattered tattoos, the man’s eyes illuminate his face like shoreline torches. “Excuse me,” he said. “Do you know where the groceries are?” His red shopping cart carries a mix of items lacking any obvious pattern, much like a store clerk’s return cart. I point to the left. “Take a left then a right,” I said. “Anything, in particular, you are looking for?” He leaned down …

Returning to the classrooms may never be so important.  As students move back to the classrooms, they may face one of the most critical challenges in their lifetime – regaining the momentum of their education. And for the other part of the equation, teachers, too, face the challenge of managing this transition. They deserve our support and prayers. Few indicators are more accurate predictors of one's future potential than reading and …

The small potted plant probably weighed like a gallon of 2% milk, but the load reflected a practice of lifting the other in life. The other night I was walking my dog around the neighborhood. I turned a corner to see an older couple ahead. The woman wore a neat blue and white patterned dress and mid-calf length; he was in a white short-sleeve shirt, high-riding tan shorts, dark socks, and …

I wish to apologize to the United States of America. At a brunch meeting earlier this week, the man at the front of the room invited everyone to join him in song following the pledge of allegiance. My breakfast suddenly did not sit so well. My family pleads with me not to sing. Seriously. And when I do, my wife will lean over, placing her hand gently over my mouth, and …

God is a master at showing up in the right place and right time – even when not on the RSVP guest list. Last week I drove to St. Louis to say goodbye to a childhood friend cancer took the week of Christmas. Wakes or celebrations of life are beautiful experiences even when COVID postpones them for six months. Walter and I met as five-year-olds beneath a plate of cookies his …

Standing on the shoreline of a body of water cut from glacial forces, I can’t help but marvel at the tens – if not hundreds of thousands – of small rocks surrounding my boots. All created from hard surfaces, their edges softened over time, their jagged elbows replaced by accommodating surfaces. And I wonder, can we learn from a pile of rocks? A stretch, but hang with me a moment. Even …

Pilgrimages come in all shapes and sizes. Religious, chasing a genealogy tree or hoping to catch a glimpse of Elvis hanging out in Graceland. Following the passing of my best friend, Walter, I found myself on one as well. Together, he and I spent more teenage hours on skateboards than sleeping. His recent death sent me to the birthplace of modern skateboarding, Walter tucked inside my heart. Dogtown is a funky …

I’m sitting around a small table at my dad’s retirement home. He’s on the far corner, and three women finish out the seats. “You know,” he said, gesturing across the table, “her family is third-generation on the island.” On Galveston Island, the term BOI – or born on island – carries an earned level of respect for hardened resiliency in the face of deadly hurricanes and dangerous flooding. A sandbar is, …