My friend Michelle sits four feet feet away from the stainless-steel fire pit in my backyard. I’m on the other side, also four feet away. We are having a small, Covid-safe inauguration celebration. We are drinking G & Ts with Hendricks, a fancy tonic, and slices of cucumber. Two drinks in, I’m good and buzzed. […]
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Opt in While it’s not the rousing fun of a kids’ game of hide-and-seek or even a word search, I enjoy the game of looking for the unsubscribe button at the bottom of automated emails. I decided that I don’t need to know about all of the sales from my local craft store, the inside
*A Few Chess Lessons* The dogs and I are on our evening walk. It’s a longer than usual as my friend Carmel and I are chatting via my wireless headset about the chess lessons we took in New York City in the early 1980s. It’s raining hard, but I’ve lived in Portland long enough to
My classroom. North Portland. September 2016. This week, I will meet five new sets of students. It’s my seventh year as a full-time high school math teacher. Today is our second day and the second day that I’m not doing any mathematics in the classroom. I’m hoping to beat last year’s record of six days
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Yesterday I was moved by the wise words from CNN commentator and former Obama advisor Van Jones: Some things you have to see believe – like what we saw today at the Capitol. But there are also things you gotta BELIEVE in order to SEE. I believe breakdowns can lead to breakthroughs if you use them right.
Two Lessons for 2021 ### The 77% Weekly. ### Rabbi Brian. ROTB.org ### 40/52 weeks a year in your in-box 1. Good enough is good enough The second section of this article, the next part, has been upcycled from a 2019 issue. By upcycling, I mean I’m reusing, elevating some of my previous
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Christmas Magic ### The 77% Weekly. ### Rabbi Brian. ROTB.org ### 40/52 weeks a year in your in-box No Wreath Annie and I are BFFs. Her dance card opened up for me as her pubescent brother prefers to spend more time with his peers. We are gabbing, pretending that waiting outside Trader Joe’s is as
Empathy By Jane B. Mayer Empathy By Jane B. Mayer A wise friend and I were discussing the difficult time so many folks are having right now. We spoke of how extending support and empathy to another often activates discomfort (and sometimes even shame) in the person on the receiving end of
Thinking like a push broom—or a leaf blower Jane and I are not engaged in conversation at the moment. We spoke some twenty minutes ago, before I came into the backyard, went to the garden shed, and got the black-moustached push broom that I now push. We are mellow, intimately connected—enjoying our crisp autumn straightening-up
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The Best $20 I gave away New York City. Manhattan. 2005. I had a presentation in Philly and extended the trip to visit my family of origin. It’s a humid Tuesday afternoon, and I’m picking up my niece at her Spanish language summer School slash day camp. Maya is almost 5. I love her hard.
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