Kim and I grew up in small towns. Occasionally, a train would pass through, blocking a road and putting traffic at a standstill. This was incredibly inconvenient when you were already running five minutes late. Sometimes you could backtrack and take an alternative route, but most of the time you had no choice but to wait. And wait. And wait. It's one of the most annoying things ever. Not once did I ever see anyone take a photo of the train. Things work differently in Yellowstone National Park. People get super excited about traffic stoppages. You might even say they hope for …
Reality Check
The Grand Prismatic is one of the things I was most looking forward to seeing on our family trip to Yellowstone National Park. It's like I had to see it to believe it was real. This is not an uncommon sentiment when it comes to this magical place. The early explorers who came back with stories from Yellowstone were written off as crazy people. Surely a loose screw, an overindulgence in booze, or insanity caused by being alone for too long was easier to believe than the tall tales that returned. Upside-down waterfalls? Boiling rivers? Bubbling mud? Twenty-foot beasts? Please. Well, …
Good Tidings or Dark Intentions?
Quick! You're on the beach with a friend and you spot something approaching on the horizon. To your amazement, you make out an armada of giant rubber ducks coming to shore. What is your reaction? Are you excited? Overjoyed? Concerned? Skeptical? Worried? Afraid? Are they visitors or invaders? Do they bring good tidings or dark intentions? Sometimes a painting can just be a fun picture that makes you smile. And sometimes it contains a deeper meaning. I asked people on social media to share their perceptions of this painting, and it may or may not surprise you that their responses …
A Message in a Bottle
On our very first date, Kim and I agreed to live on a lake. As we began the process of getting to know each other, we got talking about our ideal place to live. For some reason, Idaho was mentioned. (When you grow up in a small town in Illinois surrounded by cornfields, almost everywhere feels more exotic.) We talked of mountains and potatoes (obviously), but pine trees and lakes took precedence. We both agreed that living on a lake surrounded by tall pine trees would be an ideal place to settle down. (We didn't necessarily know it would be together.) The two of us dated for …
The “Must Be Nice” You Might Be Missing
It's the curse of every author. The exact millisecond you finally release a book from your tight grip and allow it to run free in the world, it happens. An anecdote comes your way that would have been perfect for it and you immediately think of seventeen other insights you should have added. When I wrote Must Be Nice, I didn't spend any time addressing the holidays, but boy, does that phrase pop up this time of year. And perhaps the bitter tone that accompanies our "must be nice" is a smidge more resentful. The holiday season looks different to everyone who …
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Pay Attention To What You Pay Attention To
This just in: The world is a dumpster fire. 🔥 When we left for a recent trip to Hawaii, I made the decision to unplug. I'd monitor my business email every other day or so, but detach completely from following the news and my social media feeds. It was awesome. I felt present. My heartbeat slowed and my anxiety melted. It was so glorious, that I maintained the distance even after returning home. Oh, I've snuck a peek, but it's like opening an unmarked door to reveal a gigantic infinity room filled with fires, explosions, kung fu fights, screaming chimps throwing poop at evil …
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Captured Memories, Lost Moments: The Art of Experiencing Life
I wanted to throw my phone into the raging river a thousand feet below. Its camera stubbornly refused to reflect the beauty I was seeing. It wasn't fitting everything in. The colors were off. I'd take a picture and it looked nothing like what unfolded before me. It was like a reporter only telling half the truth. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson. I experienced the same feeling when I visited the Grand Canyon. No camera on the face of the earth could sufficiently encapsulate the full grandeur of the feeling one has standing before it. I chuckled at the tourists with their tiny …
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What Are The Chances?
The baseball deflected off the bat, soaring high and out of play. It reached the roof over the grandstand above us, but I suspected it might roll back. It did. I watched as gravity reversed the ball's course and it fell back into the crowd. Hitting the aisle about twenty feet away, it ricocheted wildly off the concrete, and raced through a forest of arms, right toward me. I kept my eye on the ball and relied on the instincts and reflexes honed in my days as a second baseman. I alertly shifted my hands to my left and the ball stuck. I had just caught a foul ball at Wrigley Field on …
The Two Zoo Truths
I have an odd experiment I'd love to try someday. I thought of it during a family visit to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, after going through a number of exhibits in a row in which the animals were either hidden or off exhibit. (It's hard to tell if the jaguar is sleeping in a corner out of view or at the vet for a check-up.) After a few minutes of fruitless searching, we just shrug our shoulders and head to the next one. So I thought it would be interesting to remove all the animals from every exhibit at a particular zoo. How long would it take for the average visitor to realize that …
Shiny Objects and Our Search for Meaning
They don't make Super Bowl rings like they used to. A recent speaking engagement in Ohio provided me the opportunity to take my son Ben along for a side trip to Canton, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One of the standout displays was its collection of Super Bowl rings. You can see and compare every ring, from the first commemorating the Green Bay Packers' victory in Super Bowl I, to the one awarded to the LA Rams for winning Super Bowl LVI. The recent versions look less like rings and more like diamond-encrusted paperweights. The Super Bowl LVI ring is shaped like the …
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