I Must’ve Skipped a Step
Did I miss something when I grew up? Was there some native knowledge dancing on the polleny wind that somehow blew past me (because I was inside with a stack of library books)?
Questions, Answers, and Reasons
The importance of questions and reasons (beyond answers) was emphasized to me recently by reading two poetic works respectively about Thomas Becket and Thomas Cranmer.
A Lost Art?
So that’s why I want to write more letters. In fact, I think everyone should, at the very least so that Norton Anthologies will continue to publish authors’ handwritten correspondence well into the future.
Small Talk
small talk greatly ups the chance that I will be asked the following dreaded question: “Do you have any siblings?”—or one of the many variations this question can take.
A 30-Day Quest
So, now that it’s September and I’ve got my novel-planning materials out, I’m looking forward—in my patented, heady and mystical way—to the winnings I plan to claim this year.
Ode to Joy
But why is it always about the “joy” of homeownership? It’s true—when you buy a house you have to be prepared for the issues that come up.
Dynamic Equilibrium
Ecologists hold that patches of land, when stripped of vegetation by natural or human processes, recover by shifting through a fairly predictable series of plant and animal communities.
Riding in Buses with Strangers
Fifteen minutes before you arrive, your Eastern European neighbor takes a pickle out of a paper bag and starts eating it. That’s strange, you think, but it looks good.
Mere Atheism
We must all humble ourselves when engaging with others in conversations surrounding belief of any sort, because in the grand scheme of things, we know nothing.
Where is God?
I wanted my career to be challenging. I wanted to do something that seemed to be helping the screwed up world we live in. But I’m having a hard time getting back into this mindset.
