People change. In fact, people should be (and in some cases, are) encouraged to change. When you know better, do better. (That’s change.) So I’m conflicted about judging politicians, for example, by stances they held 20 or 30 years ago. (This is also perhaps an indicator that we shouldn’t have career politicians, but that’s another … Read more
I’m not much of a consumer of video media. When I was a kid, I watched TV (shout out to Saturday morning cartoons and 80s sitcoms!). Many of the movies I wanted to see, I wasn’t allowed to see (parents: giving exposure and having conversations is better than sheltering). By junior high, I was involved … Read more
“We did xyz when we were kids, and we turned out fine.” I hate this argument. If we’re making a strictly alive-vs.-dead argument, the people who died aren’t here to argue the other side. Seat belts, car seats, bike helmets immediately come to mind. As a health argument, young people now have a shorter life … Read more
A friend shared a meme about autism researchers “proving” things that people with autism have been writing about for 20 or more years. I thought about how that is applicable in some way to every group of “other.” When I was going through chemo, I experienced chemo brain, a side effect of many chemotherapies that … Read more
6th graders: me, to a boy who was leaning on a music stand: Be nice to the stand. boy: Hi, stand. You have beautiful legs. girl nearby: Why are you being creepy? boy: I’m not being creepy. She said to be nice, so I’m being nice. And so a conversation ensued about the difference between … Read more
Yesterday’s post started with a quote from myself: “I have eaten a lot (for me) of junk food in the last week or two…” This qualification comes off as “better than you” to some people. “A lot for you but not a lot because you’re already so good.” I give it because if I don’t, … Read more
I’ve always been an introvert. I’ve not always know I wasn’t defective. I have never been comfortable around strangers. I have no idea whose house we were at, but they had a piano. I must have been pretty young, because when I was in elementary school, my parents bought a piano and my sister took … Read more
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Who defines “broke”? So much of what has been going on socio-politically here for decades (centuries?) really boils down to this question, I think. People yearning for “the good old days” were, as far as they were concerned, part of a system that was working just fine. Ain’t … Read more
There seem to be three ways of looking at the plight of other people in relation to one’s self. 1: I don’t want anyone to suffer like I did. This person wants to mentor/coach people through it, or try to fix the problem entirely to decrease the number of people who go through the same … Read more
I’m here today to give some confidence to the slow and less enthusiastic among us. I’m a runner. I’m slow. Lately, I’ve been running 12- to 12.5-minute miles. At the fastest I’ve ever been, I ran 5K in 29:20 (or something close to that). Once. (I had only one other 5K under 30 minutes. It … Read more