Teachers hold the future in their hearts. They have the power to shape not only their students, but through them, the world. And they deserve better than most of them receive. Here’s what I want for the teachers I know: Respect A dependable copy machine Parents who honor your time, especially outside of school hours […]
Things You Notice in the ER at Midnight
When you go to the ER at midnight, you notice some things: Some people have no indoor voice. The best nurses lead from the heart. Someone you once knew as a child can grow old enough to care for you as he leads you to your mom’s room. No matter how much you love someone, frustration […]
Unlike a Picture, a Caption Sometimes Lies
I grew up in Dallas, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw a picture of myself in the yearbook from a Houston high school. I learned of that picture quite by accident. A guy who lived just down the hall from me in Dorm 14 on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State […]
Has Your Life Become a Screenshot?
“You live beautifully storied lives.” Enuma Okoro spoke those words near the end of her second, and final, keynote for the Buechner Writing Workshop a couple of months ago. I confess that I wasn’t familiar with her writing before she spoke the day before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But by the time […]
Can You Really Leave What’s Heavy Behind?
If you’ve ever traveled with a teenager, you know the fear that surged through me when my daughter announced, “I’ll handle the music on our trip, Dad.” Ugh. We weren’t even out of the driveway, and a six-hour drive loomed before us. “What kind of god-forsaken noise that she calls music am I in for,” […]
I Wrote This to Tell You Why I No Longer Write
My friend’s observation stripped me bare. “I can’t tell whether you enjoy writing or photography more.” In that moment, I realized that I had been not just seen, but seen through. “I’m scared of words these days,” I told her. I think that’s why I haven’t posted anything here since the final week of 2017—a […]