It’s impossible to tell a story you don’t even know. A jigsaw story with lots of pieces that don’t fit together. But I can’t get this story that I don’t know out of my head. I bought a book I shouldn’t have … at an estate sale. Found it in a danky basement. No one … Continue reading A Pious Frenzy
Guest post Street Lights I was sitting in a diner, only a couple of people around, having their own conversations, taking their time with every movement they made. I sipped on my sprite and looked at the clock on the wall, seeing how slowly the seconds ticked by. I watched as the bubbles from my … Continue reading Street Lights
The long knives are out for teachers caught in this pathetic reform ... wedged in the middle of a mess they didn’t make. The sad and bitter tales … about kids in homework-agony and testing misery ... color lots of teachers unfairly. Tattooing them as grinding task-masters. Cold accomplices. Me-firsts. Bad guys. They're not. Not … Continue reading Can’t You See Me?
I have three sons … all deep enough into adulthood now. Two are fathers … the other is a genius. I’m tempted to call ‘em Moe, Larry, and Curly … but if I do … and it gets back to them … well ... then they’re gonna tell lots of secrets about you-know-who … so … Continue reading Who Said “Sh*t”?
“Once … while with friends … I was asked what was the most significant thing I'd ever done in my life. It was a quick answer. Right to the point … ‘Being a Marine and leading men in combat’ ..." Ten thousand six hundred nineteen miles is a long way. But it’s not so long … Continue reading COMING HOME
Perhaps we should all resolve to take back our schools. To reclaim our parental rights. To demand that schools focus on OUR CHILDREN ... and that those unwilling to put OUR CHILDREN first should ... perhaps ... stake out other careers. It is time to acknowledge the mistakes of the last decade ... and the … Continue reading Ten Commandments of Public Education
“There shall always be love." That buzzed my ear one sticky, summer night … after my father ... the college professor ... got a little rickety with some other dads ... down on the beach. A little too wobbly … after over-sipping. He wasn’t much of a beach guy … or a water guy. He'd … Continue reading Father and Son
I possessed the True Sword. In fact … I‘d made it myself. From exotic balsa wood. Imagined in my mind … designed by my brain … and brought to life by my own curiosity. That’s what a mind is for. I was nine. I had dreamed myself Caesar’s body-guard. The boy-wonder of the Praetorian Guard. The … Continue reading The True Sword
For the last decade or so ... the message was extra-clear: You. Did. Not. Matter. It was the demand of the Liberal-Left that you … the middle class … apologize for any comfort you had brought to your own lives … because that effort did not include your lazy-ass neighbors. Liberals still insist they're right ... … Continue reading You. Did. Not. Matter. But … Now. You. Do.
I’ve out-lived my father. Isn’t that the saddest achievement? My sons are wonderful men. But they missed out on him … and he missed out on them. Bad timing. He was gone before they had a memory-card. I know something for certain. A strange something. Had he lived for a few more decades … … Continue reading Silver Brushes and White Hair
Missives Worth Reading 