Living abroad is not paradise. — Years ago I saw an older man wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the saying “same same, only different”. I considered the conundrum but could not make sense of his message. I had to go over and ask him. He smiled and seemed happy to explain his shirt. “I was in…

The WWW is a good thing, isn’t it? — The digital age is defined as this current time of social media, international news, and history all at our fingertips. It’s not slowing down either. It screams forward now into Web3. All human knowledge can be accessed with a few clicks. …

How to be a better listener by taking in what your friend is really saying—and not trying to fix them — Years ago, a male friend was touting a book at our Alaskan book club. One of the joys of book clubs is exposure. Exposure to subjects that you would have otherwise never given a second thought. …

For years I wrote. Legal briefs, memoranda, and lists. Lots of lists, lists of things to do of top priority, and things to do of low priority. Grocery lists, goal lists, lists of work projects. And, yes, more legal briefs and memoranda. Eight years ago I began to write for…

Maybe it’ll make your heart sing too. — For thirty years my wife Ingrid and I lived in Alaska before relocating to the Tropics. One year while still in the North, Ingrid decided to form a new habit. She would write down 30 blessings every morning. …

Hint: It doesn’t involve exercise. — Have you socialized a little bit less with each passing year? Do you often forego a night out with friends to instead lay on the couch watching old movies? Have you failed to return to the gym, the card club, church, or other social gatherings since the Pandemic? Now is…

Discover which stage you’re at. I’m chartreuse. — Last week my wife and I had a wonderful meal with our local book club at a new restaurant. That is, new to us. We have lived in Panama for five years, and still, find new things close by. …

Hint: It’s about you, not them. — I recently traveled to Washington DC to attend a conference with my 83-year-old aunt. One day, we took the light rail to Baltimore to research American Revolution patriots. My aunt’s phone was lost or stolen while we were changing trains. …

Believing in is not the same as believing something is real — I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, the center of the Bigfoot controversy. I kept my eyes peeled while hiking in the woods. I searched for oversized footprints. I sniffed for an overpowering rank smell. I never got lucky. Yet, I believed. And I still believe. Tales of feral human-monster…