I like encountering people who practice checking in. They are lifesavers.

Is “Grandpa” or “Grampa” the correct spelling?

Damn. It rolled through my mind again yesterday. That memory of third grade. Watching the Amish filmstrip.

Some say the eyes are the window to the soul. But I wonder if the nose has it.

Being elected State Representative has multiplied the presence of such wonderful gifts in my life as unsolicited fashion advice and misplaced invective.

Multi-generational alcoholism is just about the worst thing that’s happened to my bloodline. I became aware of this when I was about 10, due to events around my grandfather’s death. No sooner did I gain this awareness than I became afraid of alcohol and what it could do to me.

I felt that 44 would either be the most amazing year, or horrible. Horrible because of my impending doom.

In legends, humans didn’t have flutes all along. They were given to those in dire need.

“I say vote for the person,” Wayne said, gesturing upward with his index finger. I couldn’t agree more. But why does that seem so uncommon?

I’ve accumulated evidence that I can’t.

Next to my dinner plate was a piece of paper with my to-do list.

My 10-year-old calls me a “wise old tree.”

I wish I could buy laser surgery to improve my hearing, like I did with my eyes. I wouldn’t have to, though. My girlfriend would pay for it first.

Are you afraid of death?

We each come as we are. We do what we can. The depression tells use we’re not enough.

I didn’t think of myself as the kind of person who would ever go on a pilgrimage.

If you don’t know where you’re going, following a deer trail through the wilderness is a good bet. 

If I can't talk about racism I'm also less likely to see it.

Rocks from space hit Earth all the time, all over. But to find one, there are better places to look. In the Mojave Desert, a dark meteorite can land and sit around to be discovered, without vegetation to grow over it. Space rocks can accumulate for decades on Antarctic ice sheets that hardly ever see snow.