Year: 2014

“She’s stupid!” That’s what a student yelled after I gave an incorrect answer in my middle-school math class. It was embarrassing. Later that day, I was walking down the hall with an armload of books, and another student shoved me into a locker. It hurt. My school counselor told me I was a victim of bullying. I didn’t realize that’s what was happening at the time, but kids picked on me throughout middle school. Some days I felt hopeless, and other days I was sad. […]

I’ve been around for a while. Better than half a century. And I’ve done a lot of interesting things in my life. In no particular order, my “titles” have included photographer, lifeguard, soldier, medic, living organ donor, published poet, illustrator, surveyor, inspector, cardboard factory worker, sewer plant employee and pipefitter. I’m a son, a father, a husband, a divorcee, an athlete, a carpenter and a gas-station attendant. […]

Wouldn’t it be cool to use more than 10 percent of your brain? Imagine what you could accomplish if you tapped into that other 90 percent. Actually, it’s pointless to think about it. The popular notion that we use only 10 percent of our brains is completely bogus. Different parts of the human brain are constantly working, whether we are doing mindless things like breathing and walking — or writing a column past deadline. […]