The news is unfortunate these days. This has always been a matter of degrees. Years ago, I was searching for a copy of the paper in the recycling bin next to the trash can at a coffee shop. “If you’re looking for something good, you’re not going to find it in there,” was an old […]

I like people that tell the truth. I appreciate talented communicators: artists, poets, writers, storytellers, comedians, teachers, journalists, film makers. Sometimes pastors, sometimes politicians. I think it’s fascinating that pastors and politicians are in a different category. It makes sense. We expect a lot from someone who is speaking for God or in theoretical charge […]

I appreciate failure, rejection, and misfires. It’s easy to ignore truths, even truths we know, truths we could describe impressively in our preferential testing environment. Essay, oral presentation, multiple choice, short answer, or even true or false. Is failure good, necessary, and part of the process of most things? Yes. And yes because of these […]

I’ve never sent a Tweet or an emoji. Sometimes I use an exclamation point, but I feel a little uneasy about it the day after I did it.  I used to tell people that I only used six a year. I’ve relaxed my standards some.

A student came up to me the other day and […]

It makes me proud. I don’t know how much credit I can take, but I do encourage it. Yesterday, we headed out on a bike ride. Halfway across town, halfway to grandma’s, Nik stops and says, “You know what story I am always going to tell about this bike ride?”

I want to pause and […]

Sometimes reality is strange. And then while you’re sleeping, the strange seeps into corners of your brain and lubricates your dreams. I have strange school dreams. Like these two:

1. Quick change

Parents interrupt a staff meeting. “Our kids are the wrong gender. Change it.” Staff chatters. Superintendent is diplomatic, official. “As a school district […]

I love talking to people. I love being around smart, curious people discussing things. I like to know, to ask, to ponder, to discuss, to listen. A good conversation is like a free style rap, or jazz, or reading, or hiking through the woods or the city noticing things and sharing it with others. A […]

I ran across the writing of William Stafford a few years ago. I love his approach and his views on poetry and writing and the experience of being receptive to ideas. It seems healthy. It seems appropriate. I was wandering around Portland the other day and found a copy of his book You Must Revise […]

I love my wife. We were joined in holy matrimony ten years ago today. I’ve been feeling retrospective, introspective, and extrospective about it all week. By all week, I mean every day for the last decade. (Time accuracy isn’t really my thing.) Sometimes I imagine histories where she said “no” or I never asked or we never […]