Have you started getting those solicitation letters from your Alma Mater? Or from a variety of charitable organizations asking you for money? It’s that time of year – the season of giving – in more ways than one. Philanthropy Why do universities, museums, research organizations, health care facilities and others stuff your mailbox this time […]
Why do people cheat?
Do you cheat? Let me be more specific. After all – there’s cheating and then there’s fudging a little, right? Did you ever cheat in school? Did you ever cheat at a game? Do you rationalize cutting corners? Did you ever cheat in a relationship, and how “far” is cheating? How do you define cheating? […]
Lucid Dreaming
My younger son leans back in his chair at the dinner table and reaches over to the bookcase. He slips out a glossy paperback and begins flipping through it. “Why do you have a book on dream analysis?” he asks. My son doesn’t normally initiate a discussion. This is a pleasant change. Oh that, I […]
Now a Word About Quality…
Choosing quality over quantity or quantity over quality? Issues in quality relationships, customer service, consumer behavior.
Joy Part 3: Phone, Mail, Doorbell: All Teens Accounted For
Season of joy? Any time, any place. Now go peek at Joy Part 1, and Joy Part 2, if you haven’t. This is (for now) the last of today’s trilogy of tiny moments filled with the best sort of joy. Phone call About an hour ago I received an unexpected phone call from a West […]
Joy Part 1: Red Balloon on the Ceiling
Sometimes, joy comes in a red balloon.
Is Humor Genetic?
Take one smidge of Kathy Griffin, add a dollop of Robin Williams, then a sprinkling of George Carlin. What do you get? A personal mix of madness, and a loopy laugh track based on… what? I find each of these comedians to be funny, or have, at different points in my life. But my sons’ […]
Why Teenagers Should Have Parties… In Spite of Their Parents
Scared to death to let your teenagers have a party? Don’t be. Really. You could say it’s old hat around here (and I don’t mean my gorgeous $2 estate sale hat), but the thought of any teenage gathering is enough to set the parental teeth on edge, the slivers of gray to pop out overnight, […]
The restorative powers of sleep. (Not.)
Sleep, with all its remarkable restorative powers – to renew, to recharge, to dream. Then we wake refreshed, and begin a new day. No. There are no restorative powers of sleep for me, only restless legs, flailing about, waking repeatedly, disturbing dreams. The morning. Too soon. A knock on my door. It is not yet […]
I'm writing as fast as I can…
Laundry, permission slips, school lunches, art supplies, driving lessons. Another SAT registration. More credit debt. Writing. More writing. Unpaid bills, unopened mail. Researching scholarships, colleges, college visits. Leaky roof, broken mower, burnt-out printer, dying cell phone. And? I’m dancing as fast as I can More writing, more writing, more writing. Another dose to fight anxiety, […]