On Friday, August 31st, the University of Illinois at Chicago announced that it was ending its 71-year-old collegiate gymnastics program. I got the news not from a press release, but from my devastated son, who is on the team and chose to attend UIC for the opportunity to compete, forgoing a full-scholarship offer from a […]
Donald Trump just issued an order suspending immigration from certain countries. The reason given was to protect Americans from the danger of terrorists. As a foster parent, I deeply identify with the decision process of evaluating the risk of who you let in. When DHR calls us with a placement, my wife and I go […]
Her screams echoed in the night. She had forgotten their other purpose. They had all forgotten. *** Six years earlier. Judith Fenwicky tapped on the microphone to bring the meeting to order. With this group of people, she found it particularly hard to stop them from talking so she coughed loudly. The chattering eventually stopped […]
For a child, the first years are often thought of as the time before memory. Very few people have specifics that they can recall from much before three years old. As parents this sometimes makes us think that these first few years will be erased. This is a relief when we think that our mistakes […]
Translations: Српски Español Polskie The sound of a baby crying is one of the most disturbing sounds there is to the human brain. The military has used the sounds of crying babies to torture people. The noise calls to the lowest parts of our minds and says that something is wrong. When people […]
For most of my life I have supported the idea of the death penalty. If you had to assign a label (please don’t) to my political views, they would tend to fall in the conservative range. But I try to avoid having a team mentality. This is where you support something without giving it rational […]
There are a million (probably literally) Star Wars reviews out there, so you don’t need to read another one. It’s good. Go see it if you haven’t. I was left with many thoughts and questions, but one stood out in my mind. All stories have to leave events out and the viewer/reader has to make […]
The one or two times that I bowl a year, my goal is to break a hundred points. For those not familiar with bowling, this is a totally unremarkable score. I often don’t attain even this modest feat. But for one game, one shining moment, I scored radically higher than I ever had before (or […]
I don’t think everyone will agree with me on this one, but hear me out. In society various social customs develop. They start as politeness, and eventually evolve into an expected part of interaction. Years ago, when someone helped you pull your ox out of the ditch, you would say “Thanks.” It was a simple […]
Elise Stephens did an interview with the main character of Sugar Scars. It didn’t quite turn out like she expected. http://www.elisestephens.com/…/09/28/sugar-scars-an-interv…/