The Kid mentioned to me the other day: “Mom, did you know Tony the Tiger donates money to keep sports in schools?” We had a short conversation about it, and I told him I’d look up the details. Here are the details: you buy a box of Frosted Flakes. You upload your receipt, and Kellogg’s … Read more
Valentine’s Day is coming up (if January ever ends)… A gift that provokes anxiety or guilt (or both!) is not a good gift. If your partner is reducing or eliminating junk food, buying chocolate, cookies, candies, etc. is not a thoughtful thing to do. Likewise, if you’re reducing or eliminating junk food, don’t ask for … Read more
I shared with you a snippet from a podcast regarding emotional contagions and the effect of negative people in your orbit. If you got to thinking and realized that might be you, this clip might help. Or if you move through the world feeling you’re less than other people, for any of a variety of … Read more
I was at physical therapy. There was an older woman finishing up her appointment. She had one of the standard old white lady perms. Her hair was dyed purple, fading. She had on a grey long-sleeved T-shirt with an emerald green short-sleeved T-shirt over it which read BE HAPPY in white letters. And shiny silver … Read more
From my Facebook archives. I wrote a bunch to go with it, then decided it speaks for itself. Some students from my school were crossing a 6-lane street. They were half way across, and traffic stopped in order for them to complete their crossing. There were cars in only two of the three lanes. Someone … Read more
So many people discrediting each other based on their age. “You are [young/old] so you don’t know anything” attitude. Take age out of it. Is the person informed? Experienced in this? Depending on who/what the conversation is about, are they articulate? Do they look at things from multiple vantage points? People at any age can … Read more
When a sentence has two parts—the first part positive and the second part negative—the conjunction makes a big difference in how the complete sentence is received. “You played that song really well, but this note should be two beats.” “You played that song really well, and this note should be two beats.” “You played that … Read more
A friend’s father-in-law is in his final hours. I would not text her right now to complain about … anything. Thinking about that led me to realize that perhaps people get situations confused. Or just aren’t able to find out what direction to go in other difficult situations. When I was first diagnosed with cancer, … Read more
Every time we go hiking, there are full dog poop bags on or near the trail. You’re missing the point. Take it out with you. Leave everything the way you found it (or better). Don’t be that guy. As a bonus example, a patron at an Indian restaurant was arguing with the waiter about whether … Read more
The photo was taken in Tempe, Arizona. The building on the left is an old flour mill, built in 1918 and used until 1998. The building on the right is a glass office building. I don’t know when it was built (how do you find that information?), but it’s obviously much newer than 1918. The … Read more