Remember the best teacher you had in high school, the one from whom you learned so much? Ever reflect on why she never had any discipline problems? Was it because your classmates were more respectful in those halcyon years? That teacher seemed so relaxed, in control, no behavior management issues.
It is coming increasingly clear that “we are who we are.” I didn’t choose to be a happily married heterosexual male any more than any of my gay friends and relatives chose to be who they are. “Straight Camp”-okay, there’s no such thing as “Straight Camp”, somebody made that up-doesn’t
1) Four-year-old Liam picks a wooden train out of the toy box. His six-year-old brother, Colby, comes over and grabs the train from his hand. Undeterred, Liam gathers a bag of blocks and starts to build a tower. Colby knocks over the stack of blocks. Undaunted, Liam selects a puzzle.
One of my running buddies found out a few years ago that a distant relative on his wife’s side left the couple some $6000. Malcolm wasn’t close with his wife’s aunt’s second husband so he was equally pleased and saddened by the news of his passing. “He had a good
You know that guy who is unpleasant with you, has been for years? You know the one I mean. Maybe he’s a colleague at work, maybe a neighbor. Maybe he’s the bully in your algebra class, maybe it’s your wife’s sister’s husband. Whoever it is, he’s always giving you a
When our sons were six, one of my running buddies and I packed up the canoes and the kids and headed out to the barrier islands conveniently located a hundred yards from the mainland out in Biscayne Bay. After tying the boats to the top of the car and loading
1) “Turn left at the third light pole before the church that burned down where Lee Ann’s grandfather got married that first time.” 2) “Take half the coefficient of the linear term, square it, and add it to both sides.” What do these directives have in common? That not everyone
At the gym the other day, I overheard a conversation between two acquaintances who had, by their own objective assessment, the worst most miserable lives ever in the history of the planet Earth from the Australopithecines to the present day. Ungrateful children, galloping health concerns, economic problems of epic proportions,
Parents trying to raise healthy kids in our toxic culture frequently describe how alone they feel: “All the other parents let their kids play vacuous, violent, addictive video games.” Parents also feel overwhelmed. “We both have jobs. Do you know what it costs to live in this city?” Parents feel
Remember that kid who invented all those brilliant ways to cheat in high school? Even before electronic communications, he was making crib sheets in ingenious ways. Writing information on his sleeve, hiding notes in his sneakers, there was nothing he wouldn’t do. Except study, of course. Parents today have stolen
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