“How was your day?” I asked after picking her up from softball practice. “It was good.” “Just good?” I asked. “Nothing new and exciting?” “Oh, we took an ACT test today. That was really fun.” she said. “Wait, isn’t that like a college type test? How did I not know about this?” “Mommy did.” she said. “And it’s a test to see where you might best fit in at the High School level.” Oh, now I knew why I didn’t know about…
I was doing something outside today when I heard a rain of acorns fall from the big live oak tree. I turned to watch them land right on Sammy, the little pug-type dog that lives with us. I looked up and saw a squirrel scamper along the big branch of the oak that crosses our driveway and nearly engulfs our house, keeping it cool during summer. Then I thought about how sustainable our patch of land is for all the creatures that call…
We’ve heard it all before: “Open your eyes. Open your heart. The world needs you to change.” It’s too simple. It will never work. We’re too embedded in what we’ve convinced ourselves is the “real world.” We get up at the crack of dawn and commute to jobs where we work until our eyes bleed. Then we come home and feed our brains with scripts written by writers who are paid to keep your attention (which means shocking you senseless because…
When you’ve been driving for as long as I have, you start to notice patterns in people and the cars they drive. I’ve compiled this list to help you understand people a little better based on their cars. Lexus: No it’s not a Mercedes, but it’s still better than your POS. Ford: I can’t afford a European import so I justify this car as “supporting America.” Land Rover: In my mind I’m driving across African plains teeming with wildlife, not sitting in rush hour…
If I didn’t consider my ego my enemy, it would be a lot easier to make it America. Self-promoters seem to do pretty well. Or at least, that’s the perception. But no, I have to find a way to kill my ego every day just to stay sane. And relatively humble. Today I drank hemlock. Tomorrow, a different device. What an idiot. You don’t make it out of the machine this way. *** Jim Mitchem
Yesterday our oldest daughter (13) went to the mall with a couple of friends. When she left, it looked like she was going to a dance. It was her first time going to the mall without parents. “So, why exactly are they going to the mall?” I asked my wife. “To find their independence.” she said. “At the mall?” Then I thought about it and realized that I did the same thing. The year was 1978. I was 13 and living in…
