Nearly two weeks have passed since the worldwide broadcast of famed boxer Muhammad Ali’s funeral. There is little I can add to the parade of glowing tributes to the former heavyweight champion from every corner of society. Still, the news of his passing prompted me to recall some favorite memories related to his legendary 1971…
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Having lived in Denver for more than six years and visited a number of times since we moved back east, I never dreamed of getting lost there. Yet on our recent vacation, that’s exactly what happened. One night, as we left our son’s apartment for our hotel southeast of the city, I decided it would…
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Read State of Miracles Part 1 Second of two parts I mentioned in my last blog that we made a decision to change our lives after facing the enormous pressure brought on by my stepson’s drug use and related problems—which ultimately led to him serving several months in jail for violating his probation. I think too…
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First of two parts Sometimes major decisions in life turn on small, mysterious incidents. Looking back, it is easy to gauge their earth-shattering significance, although at the time one could only see pain and confusion. I reflected on that truth last week on a visit to Colorado, where we lived from 1981-87. One reason for…
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Another old friend—a guy I’ve known since kindergarten—retired last week, although not to sit in a rocking chair. Instead, he is already out hiking the Appalachian Trail. Sometimes, I think of how nice it would be to sit back, relax and leave the world of deadlines and other stress behind. I felt a sharp twinge…
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Since I live in a region battered by unemployment, drug overdoses, and a future filled with uncertainty, a recent spiritual awakening in southern West Virginia is the stuff of considerable excitement. And there is additional backstory to this particular episode that is also fascinating. It started about three weeks ago at lunch with an old…
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A member of my professional editors group recently posted a lament about a client who had quibbled with nearly everything she had marked on a chapter of the woman’s book. The editor wondered whether she should continue or bow out of the job. That brought a quick response from another editor who told of a…
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I wrote recently about a book-editing-related venture to Los Angeles. What I didn’t mention in that blog was how the trip put me behind the 8-ball with another book edit that needed some last-minute revisions. When I told the editor my trip would make it impossible to meet the deadline, she extended it a week.…
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Although more than 20 years have passed since the airing of the final episode of Cheers, one can still watch the hit sitcom via Hulu and other online streaming options. While I rarely watched the show, its ubiquitous tagline, “Where everybody knows your name,” lives on. Particularly the oft-expressed craving for “community.” That theme popped…
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