Can You Make This Unfamiliar?
I’m teaching my students how to de-familiarize themselves from their own writing in order to find errors. It’s a strange phenomenon of writing: when you
September 27, 2011
Live With Flair
Enjoy the archive
When You Must Improvise
When fruit flies start swarming in the kitchen, I know it’s time to make peach cobbler. So ripe they nearly burst in my hand, the
September 26, 2011
Would You Give Like This?
I’m speaking with a lovely woman at a dinner party. I just love her flair; right down to her shoes, this woman has style. I
September 25, 2011
An Unsafe Life
Anticipating rain, I wear my enormous rain boots out onto the Gettysburg battlefields. I won’t dread the rain or flooding today! But it doesn’t rain;
September 24, 2011
In Great Deeds Something Abides
I’m walking on the battlefields today. I’m deeply moved by Chamberlain’s words spoken at the dedication of the Monument to the 20th Maine on October
September 23, 2011
What Not to Ask Your College Professor
I’m sitting in office hours, and a student stops in to discuss his philosophy class. We lean back in our chairs, pondering whether or not
September 22, 2011
A Lesson from the Wise Big Sister
Today, my Wise Big Sister offers another bit of wisdom. This is the Wise Big Sister who wrote me letters in college with Bible verses
September 21, 2011
Offering a Blank Page
Just now, my printer chokes and halts. An orange warning light flickers. A message alert flashes on my computer screen: No paper. I find the
September 20, 2011
I Didn’t Intend to Make a Fool of Myself
By now you know my weakness: Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” I’m at the school picnic, and the DJ plays the song. It’s like I’m on
September 19, 2011
Things That Make Us Humble
I’m learning to give thanks for things that make me humble. What a blessing in disguise when we experience failure, sickness, less-than-perfect children, a rebuke
September 18, 2011