Words represent our most effective means of making sense of the world and of communicating a shared understanding of virtue, righteousness, morality, honor, etc. – and their unsavory opposites – to one another and especially our children.
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An Interview with . . . Me?, Part 1
Because no other media outlet has requested an interview with me since the release of my latest novel, Island No. 6, I decided to interview myself and to ask the types of questions that actually interest me rather than the typically banal ones interviewer’s tend to ask.
Thoughts on This Election Day 2020
“Based upon my long experience as one who appreciates, teaches, and regularly employs metaphorical language, I think an even more appropriate comparison for President Trump than a Teflon pan is a child’s toy, the Etch-a-Sketch.”
In the “Spirit” of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos
With Halloween and Dia de los Muertos just around the corner, I thought I’d share an excerpt from my second novel, Goodness Falls, the climax for which occurs on The Day of the Dead (Nov. 2nd).
A Bad Romance: The Story Behind the Story of Island No. 6
“I picked up the pieces of my writer’s broken heart and put myself and my work out there once more. Who knows? Maybe Mr. or Mrs. Right Agent is still out there. If so, I’m willing to put the bad romance behind me and to learn to love again.”
36th Year – To Teach or Not to Teach
“Soon I’ll begin my 36th year in the classroom. It will certainly be the most bizarre of school years and likely the most challenging, and over the summer, there have been moments when the thought of retiring has flickered across my mind”
On Happiness
“Moments of unadulterated happiness truly are the stuff of life. Anyone who accumulates even a handful in the span of a lifetime and transforms those moments into memories can boast of a life well-lived.”
On Children Leaving Home
As I’ve been watching friends and family members send off their college age children, I thought I’d share some of the accrued wisdom we shared with our children as they left home for the first prolonged period of time.
America is a Noun
“I’m not sure with whom I was more disappointed: right wingers for co-opting the colors and the notion of American pride or left-leaning folks like me for allowing it to happen.”
Bob’s Life Mattered
“Occasionally, I hear folks complain about BLM. They typically make some kind of blanket declaration of the obvious, like “All Lives Matter,” as if to suggest they, as white people, are in similar need of societal validation. I find such glomming onto African-Americans’ justifiable claim to be petty and to miss the point entirely.”
