If I could go back and give advice to my 14-year-old self it would be this: marriage is worth the trouble but must be managed like chronic disease. Even now you may be wondering why it is that, no matter how long two people have been together, no matter how much they think they know … Continue reading What are you thinking? (and other relationship landmines)

This was supposed to be a piece about a character named “Dick” and how most of us—chiefly me—are more like him than we are like a John Cusack character. Unfortunately, this piece isn't even remotely about Dick—it's about John Cusack and me … but mostly me. I was 11 years old the first time I … Continue reading Me, Dick, and John Cusack

The fight over healthcare isn't over. You may think it's over because you diddled into a sock while watching a blonde anchor on FOX News before passing out on the couch. But this isn't over. You may think this is over because Republicans have been quiet after failed attempts at replacing Obamacare with Wet-Naps and … Continue reading Who needs healthcare when you’ve got time travel

NOTE: I wrote this piece many many years ago when I was working for the Charlevoix Courier newspaper up in Northern Michigan. Someone, whose opinion I respect, recently said writing about controversial issues is pointless. He asked how many minds I thought I could change. To him I say, I don’t know. But I would … Continue reading The porn and I

To be poor means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Whereas some are perpetually dissatisfied because their car isn’t shiny enough, or they didn’t get to vacation in Italy, I find myself, all these years later, thankful for cupboards full of food, cable television and an abundance of toilet paper. … Continue reading Poverty simulations play at being poor