(Listen to this post, here.) I learned how to juggle during the summer I turned 13. My older brother gave me a book on how to do it, and I spent several weeks trying to figure it out. It wasn’t just juggling balls, either. The author also showed how to juggle clubs, which at the time necessitated making them yourself out of sawed-off broom handles and empty Clorox bottles. (Yes, as a matter of fact, I did grow up in a log cabin during the Colonial Period.) And by the way, if you […] Click to read more…

(Listen to this post, here.) Danger was the last thing on my mind. After all, it was a quiet, sunny day and I had just pulled out of my office parking lot on my way to lunch with my friend Will. But as I stopped 50 feet up the road at the traffic light, the few inches of snow that had been happily sitting on the roof of my car since yesterday’s storm came sliding down onto my front windshield. I couldn’t see a thing and there was clearly too much […] Click to read more…

(Listen to this post, here.) Have you traveled internationally much? I’ve done a little bit. One thing I’ve noticed is that no matter where you go, when you meet someone whose first language is not English, and no matter how technically fluent they may be, they almost always speak with an accent. And, of course, it’s not just any accent. Italians speak with an Italian accent. Germans speak with a German accent. Costa Ricans speak with a Costa Rican accent. So here’s my question for you: How do they know? […] Click to read more…

(Listen to this post, here.) We were up in Maine last week, cat-sitting for my wife’s friend Lori. I have to confess, the sudden switch to “pet care” was a bit of an adjustment. It’s not like I haven’t done it before; we had a dog for more than ten years. But having to suddenly deal with food, hair, vomit, and poop again … well, it was like having someone hand you a toddler and say, “Feed her twice a day; I’ll be back on Thursday.” Fortunately, it went pretty […] Click to read more…