It’s January 2 and Christmas is officially over. Sigh. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t such an unceremonious ending. You’ve got four or five weeks of slowly climbing that first big hill of the rollercoaster — tick, tick, tick — and the climactic pay-off happens. You top the hill, hands raised, and fly down […]
As I’ve said before, I try to be transparent and real in this blog. I’ve been debating writing this, but I think it might make me feel better, and I really need your help. Here goes… From my earliest memories, I’ve been a Christmas buff. I can’t recall any year or period of time when […]
It’s no surprise that people tend to view the decade of their childhood as the best. As kids, we look at the world with innocence and wonder through formative eyes that are focused mostly on the good things in the world rather than the bad. The popular culture of the day is what helps form us into the […]
By Awritesmart.com guest contributor, Rob Rowland (thanks so much, Rob!) Member: CrossFit Wangaratta, Northeast Victoria, Australia Just finished the 400 metre jog, into some push ups, a few body weight squats and finish with some sit ups, need a drink, sweating a fair bit, hands on my knees bent over gasping for air (see photo). […]
It happens as we cruise through our 21st-century life, and it’s nobody’s fault in particular. It happens while we spend eight hours a day in our brick office buildings, five days a week, most of a year;as we’re driving our air-conditioned vehicles down wide swaths of pavement flanked by stacks of apartment buildings and expanses of […]
Yesterday marked my sixth year of birthdays on Facebook. Dozens of friends, family members, and acquaintances saw my name in that little box in the right-hand column or were notified of my birthday and took the time to write me a birthday wish. Some of them were eloquent paragraphs. Some were peppy, ended in multiple […]
We’re going on Day 6 of the Great Wintery-Mix Storm of 2015. Because we’re all essentially trapped in our homes, Americans on the lower-right side of the map have all taken to social media to air their witticisms and smart-aleck remarks about this rare episode of cold + moisture (usually, it’s one or the other) in […]
My fascination with Louie Zamperini has finally come full circle. I went to the movie “Unbroken” last night. I’m not going to revisit the details of my personal interaction with the WWII hero here, but the nutshell is that I met and interviewed Louie in his Hollywood home in 2012. It will give you more […]
If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ve probably seen me mention Louis “Louie” Zamperini, the WWII hero and subject of the new movie, “Unbroken,” directed by Angelina Jolie. Like millions of other people, I was captivated by Laura Hillenbrand’s book of the same name, which was released in 2010. Louie, as you may know, […]
(Originally post 12/4/12. Updated.) Due to the brisk response I received to my “Top 10 Christmas Shows” post, I decided to tackle a song list. As a music guy and a Christmas freak, it was impossible for me to narrow it down to 10, so I added five. With a few exceptions, these songs […]