As long as I can remember, I’ve had this nagging fear of being around people. I stuttered as a kid (a friend told me last week I still do), and I always thought I was letting someone down, although I wasn’t sure just who. I tried to mask my fear. Years ago I drank …
Back in high school, I had this old, old journalism teacher by the name of Ms. Keefe. She was brutal when it came to curbing my creative writing talents. I had a weekly column in a Chicago suburban newspaper that she had set up for me. I was to write interesting stories …
You know how it feels when you visit friends you haven’t seen for years, and by golly, they look so much different than you remembered? Yet, when you see a friend almost every day, it’s hard to detect how he or she has aged at all. It’s the same with yourself. I don’t notice …
I did a scientific survey to study the huge impact I have on my three closest friends. I asked friend #1: “Did you think about the advice I gave you yesterday?” Close friend #1: “Nope. I played 18 holes of golf and had a cold beer.” I asked friend #2: “I bet you got a …
If I could pass one piece of advice to the younger me, it would be to practice being more interested than interesting. For decades I attempted to be an interesting guy to both friends and acquaintances. I had jokes and stories relevant to any group. Didn’t people want to …
With my lower back issues, it’s getting increasingly difficult for me to walk upstairs. That didn’t keep me from a Wisconsin Badger Football game last weekend. Right before halftime, I began the climb from my row up to the second level of Camp Randall stadium. The first 15 …
My family got our first TV when I was about seven. It had a knob to change channels. There were three choices. Often the screen looked snowy, with wavy lines moving from top to bottom. My father, Vern, bought rabbit ears and moved them all around. The fuzzy snow and wavy …
My daughter, the psychologist, asked me, “Dad, are you getting wiser as you age?” I’m always worried she’s asking me a trick question, one to trip me up in a loving father/daughter sort of way. “What do you think?” I volleyed back. I received no verbal response. All I got …
You should invest in a good reading chair, even if you don’t sit in it very often. Then, if additional money is available, you should go out and buy an expensive floor lamp, one of those that arches over the back of the chair. Put your purchases in a prominent place for all …
I love to play. I always have, first as a little kid, playing kick the can and tag and knocking on my friend Billy’s door asking if he could come out and play. As a teenager I played with basketballs and baseballs, and as a father I played often with my eager children. As …
