Several years ago, I had to stay late at work. I was finishing up a project. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my boss’ boss, a managing director of the firm, pacing the floor. He was on his cellphone and he looked stressed. He was in a glass walled conference room so … More As plain as day
The Do-It-Yourself home repair guy on the television was connecting two PVC couplings. He cut here, brushed some adhesive there, and voila, it was done in no time. He made it look so simple. To steal a line from Geico, the U.S.-based auto insurance company, it looked “so easy a caveman can do it.” For … More A piece of cake
I’ve had a cold and cough for the past week and a half. I thought it would be short-lived, but it’s been lingering. Every time I think it’s gone, it comes storming back stronger than before. I was taking a few things to control it, but nothing was working. I finally went to the drugstore … More I’ll take the red one
I got up from my desk and walked to the office kitchen. I wasn’t really hungry, but I was trying to take my mind off the waiting. I can be as impatient as they come. Unexpected down time tends to eat me up. It doesn’t help when someone has been inconsiderate of my time and … More Talking the same language?
When our daughter was born in the early 90s, I tried to write about her birth. She was our first child and I wanted to put down on paper the joy and happiness my wife and I were feeling. I wanted to describe our crazy journey together. In my excitement to get us to the … More Finding inspiration
When I was a young kid, I read a book about a guy who walked across the United States, connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. It was hard for me to wrap my brain around the idea, it seemed like such an impossible task. I couldn’t imagine how he could do it. The details … More Connecting the dots
When I was a kid, I was scared of the dark. I worried especially about the ghosts underneath my bed and things that went bump in the night. I was pretty clueless about what these mythical creatures might do or how they would harm me, but it didn’t stop me from coming up with horrible … More Things that go bump in the night
I clicked the button and my screen went blank. For half a second, I stared straight ahead, thinking what the hell had just happened. I couldn’t believe it. I was helping my client with an issue and had offered to prepare a presentation and a few talking points for her for upcoming Town Hall meeting. I … More Disappearing into thin air
I tried to sprint the final 20 yards, but my legs felt like slabs of concrete. I straightened up my posture, but I was instantly back to being hunched over like an old man. My breaths came in deep gulps. I turned a corner in the trail, hit my stopwatch and shuffled my feet to … More Better . . . stronger . . . faster!
I try to write a little each night. You know the tortoise from Aesop’s Fable, The Tortoise and the Hare — well, the tortoise and his “slow and steady wins the race” pace is me. Yes, imagine me with my hard outer shell cranking away each night at my laptop. In the story, the tortoise walks slowly … More The ups and downs of a writer
The Heart of the Matter 