‘What is normal? Normal is yesterday and last week and last month taken together.’ – Lord Vetinari from Snuff by Terry Pratchett Since the COVID pandemic hit in early 2020, people have lamented the desire to return to “normal”. Normal. What is it? How do we define it? Is “normal” even a real thing? We… Continue reading Normal?
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Valentine Lament
In one of my daughters’ classrooms this week, she overheard a group of boys talking. One boy said, “I actually really don’t like Valentine’s Day. Like, at all.” My first response was, “YES! Fight the power, boys!” My next response was that someone should tell those boys, or everyone for that matter, that it’s okay… Continue reading Valentine Lament
Reaching the Double Nickel
On my fifth birthday, July 20, 1969, the Eagle landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked and worked on the lunar surface while Michael Collins orbited in the command module. A monumental achievement and an opportunity for the first time for humans to view the Earth while standing on another celestial body.… Continue reading Reaching the Double Nickel
Oh, the possibilities! Microbes, genomes, and editing life.
When we think of science fiction, we think of sleek ships with hyperdrives, aliens, high-tech devices and weapons, grand battles, and if we’re lucky, space pirates. Probably the last things to pop into our reader/writer sci-fi brains are microbes or on a smaller scale, genes. That’s too bad because microbes and genetics can be a… Continue reading Oh, the possibilities! Microbes, genomes, and editing life.
Blessed Are You If You Do It
So when he had washed their feetand put his garments back on and reclined at table again,he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,you ought to wash one… Continue reading Blessed Are You If You Do It
An Anchor in the Wind
In the face of brutal, early March in Kansas, 50 MPH+ wind gusts, I saw a starling land on a branch at the very top of an old oak tree. The north wind tossed the limbs and the entire top of the tree, violently side to side. The bird, a starling, deftly landed on the… Continue reading An Anchor in the Wind
Work Smarter, Not Colder
The plan today was to do the final fallen leaf mowing of 2025. The leaves turned and fell very late this fall, so this facet of lawn maintenance has run deep into November and December. (Note: The garden also had an extended growing season, i.e., I ate the final tomato of the season today on… Continue reading Work Smarter, Not Colder
Book Series Challenge: Mary Poppins
In February of 2024, while scrolling through illustrators’ posts on Instagram, I ran across an announcement by Monty Lee for an upcoming illustration challenge called the Book Series Challenge. The challenge was to use any media of choice, excluding generative AI, and create illustrations for seven prompts taken from classic book excerpts. After completing my… Continue reading Book Series Challenge: Mary Poppins
Book Series Challenge: Peter Pan
In February of 2024, while scrolling through illustrators’ posts on Instagram, I ran across an announcement by Monty Lee for an upcoming illustration challenge called the Book Series Challenge. The challenge was to use any media of choice, excluding generative AI, and create illustrations for seven prompts taken from classic book excerpts. After completing my… Continue reading Book Series Challenge: Peter Pan
Book Series Challenge: The Wind in the Willows
In February of 2024, while scrolling through illustrators’ posts on Instagram, I ran across an announcement by Monty Lee for an upcoming illustration challenge called the Book Series Challenge. The challenge was to use any media of choice, excluding generative AI, and create illustrations for seven prompts taken from classic book excerpts. After completing my… Continue reading Book Series Challenge: The Wind in the Willows
Book Series Challenge: Pinocchio
In February of 2024, while scrolling through illustrators’ posts on Instagram, I ran across an announcement by Monty Lee for an upcoming illustration challenge called the Book Series Challenge. The challenge was to use any media of choice, excluding generative AI, and create illustrations for seven prompts taken from classic book excerpts. The Book Series… Continue reading Book Series Challenge: Pinocchio
Baseball Bats
Thirteen years old and I’m playing right field late in the game on a late weeknight game at Liondotte Field, Kansas City, Kansas. It’s hot. It’s mid-June humid, and there’s a haze in the air, which, for once, is not caused by the 1970s-era parents chain-smoking in the stands trying to stay awake. The coach… Continue reading Baseball Bats
A Words Look: Hope by Pope Francis, Part 2.
Build a better future by building a better now. My reading for Lent this year was Pope Francis’s autobiography, Hope. The Pope says in the introduction that this book was scheduled to be released after his death, but he felt the current state of worldly affairs warranted its release before his death and before he… Continue reading A Words Look: Hope by Pope Francis, Part 2.
A Words Look: Hope by Pope Francis, Part 1.
My reading for Lent this year was Pope Francis’s autobiography, Hope. The Pope says in the introduction that this book was scheduled to be released after his death, but he felt the current state of worldly affairs warranted its release before his death and before he fell ill and was hospitalized. It makes me wonder… Continue reading A Words Look: Hope by Pope Francis, Part 1.