Suprise Me

  The Sister Lottery Just this morning I learned that one of my good friends has an older sister. They’re extremely different, apparently, but mostly their value systems appear to be miles apart. “I just don’t like her and I have no respect for her,” my friend concluded. I couldn’t help but reflect on the… Read More

But road rage has a way of sneaking up on you, and you’re embroiled in it before you have time to actually think. Read More

The fire was blowing along the ridgeline in our direction.  Trees were candling—igniting and throwing off firebrands--burning hunks of wood. Now the fire had jumped the vast concrete firebreak of Hwy 24 into the Oakland Hills.  Read More

A rigged contest. A hypocritical winner? Read More

From about 1539 BC to around 1075 BC, the Valley of the Kings, in ancient Thebes, was the burial site for the rulers and some nobility of ancient Egypt. Though known about, the exact whereabouts had been lost through the ages, until archaeological excavations led by Europeans during the time of Napoleon began in the… Read More

Does everyone want to lose weight in the new year? My resolution began after seeing photos of myself from our first trip to Italy in 2011. I had never been so heavy. I looked puffy and not like myself. I didn’t want to turn 60 on December 10, 2012 looking like that. I had never… Read More

Mom spent Mother's Days closeted. Read More

Sometimes you can work it out, sometimes you can’t. I’ve had a lot of roommates, starting as a 17-year-old college freshman, and ending when I bought my first house at age 27. CAVEAT: This story is way too long to sustain anyone’s interest, so I advise reading maybe about half of it. Once I started… Read More

But one work changed me forever. Read More

Snow Day Kids love snow days when the schools are closed,  and so do we teachers. One winter a few years ago we had lots of snow and every night we eagerly watched the weather report for the listing of school closures When we did have a snow day my colleague Doug decided to spend… Read More