I used to think there were only three different feelings. In couple’s therapy, I referred to them (only half-jokingly) as “anger, neutral, and smile.” I had at least some vague awareness of a richer world beyond my childlike view. I could probably have named dozens of more colorfully nuanced feeling words. But when it came…
I went on a pilgrimage Not to Mecca, or the Wailing Wall Not to Graceland, or the tombs of other saints This was a tiny pilgrimage I stood by the ruins of our old family home Kicking rocks into the burnt out basement Letting the ghosts swirl So young and sure of themselves Yet clueless…
At least we caught the problem before blowing up the engine. On the other hand, it was still a drag to sit for two hours and wave irritated drivers around us at the service station. Gasoline in a diesel pickup is a bad idea. Use the green nozzle, not the black one, folks. Trust me….
This article originally appeared in Elephant Journal – here. One-hit wonder. When you read those words, you probably recall an earworm of a song. Like perhaps Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping”. For children of the eighties like my wife Valerie and me, maybe it is “Relax” from Frankie Goes to Hollywood or Valerie’s personal favourite “Take On Me”…
The Economist may have raised a few eyebrows among their readers when they stated that 2019 would be “Year of the Vegan.” Since this prediction, there have been a lot of promising developments, such as the highly oversubscribed initial public offering of shares in Beyond Meat and a plethora of meat and dairy alternatives hitting…
This article originally appeared in Elephant Journal. You can find the full article here. The consumeristic hubbub of the holiday season can distract us from an encouraging point: it’s the most charitable time of year. Here is some food for thought as fundraising campaigns fill our mailboxes and inboxes. The average American nonprofit collects a…
cur·mudg·eon /kərˈməjən/ noun noun: curmudgeon; plural noun: curmudgeons 1. a bad-tempered person, especially an old one. Hello, my name is Alistair Schroff. There are perhaps as many blogs on the internet as there are internet users. Does the world need another one? Maybe not. Wait – probably not. Or so says the curmudgeonly side of…