Fiction, Writing, Articles, Essays, Reviews.
“Hi David, How are you feeling today?” So begins my chat with Woebot (quite the name!), an artificial intelligence-based chatbot that provides mental health therapy. I can write something in the text box or choose from a long list of feelings: anxious, depressed, sad, frustrated, happy (although who’s feeling happy if they’re using a therapy chatbot?), and many others. I don’t have a particular...
I just read a troubling article in The Economist: “How many American children have cut contact with their parents?” Quite a few: “. . . Familial estrangement seems to be widespread in America. The first large-scale nationwide survey, recently conducted by Cornell University, found that 27 percent of adult Americans are estranged from a close family member.” The actual percentage is likely higher...
That’s Fred in the center of the photo, Number 8, leaning into the first turn of his motocross race, just seconds after a thunderous start and sprint out of the starting gate. Fumes and dirt flying. Combined engines like a jet taking off. A younger man’s game, right? No. Fred is my age–and he’s still a beast on a motocross bike. He came in second in his class on a hot day...
I’ve suddenly been getting a lot of letters directed to my advice column. Clearly, people are dealing with a lot of problems these days. I can’t say I’m surprised. Recently, I advised a fellow who almost burned himself up. Then I had a letter from a VIP in New York State government, who subsequently wrote back praising my advice for him and confessing something rather personal...
How better to accept and appreciate living in the suburbs than riding your bike through quiet neighborhoods of tasteful houses and smooth, paved roads, no hands, lilacs and lawnmowers in the air, sitting high above your handlebars, pedaling, arms stretched out, balancing even through the tiny thrill of leaning into a corner and turning onto the next pretty block, no hands, no hands. What a...
Someone criticized me for not being a good team player. And yet I’ve always liked the idea of collaborating with others. In school, I liked being on the crew team and hockey teams. I like the camaraderie of playing basketball with the guys. I like brainstorming with others to generate ideas and solve problems. I once co-wrote a screenplay with a creative partner and it was one of the best writing...
It’s a major commitment to read an epic novel these days, and I don’t do it as often as I did in my younger days. I can’t say my attention span hasn’t shortened in recent years due to various factors, and the task of reading an 850-page novel seemed daunting. But I’ve never read Tolstoy and every serious reader must at some point. My copy of Anna Karenina has been sitting untouched on my...
I’ve never been enamored with the South, but I developed a fondness for Birmingham, Alabama after visiting multiple times while Julia was living there for much of the past year. So I was pleased to hear this week that Alabama lifted its ban on teaching yoga in K-12 public schools—and aghast such a ban had existed for almost thirty years. Why the ban on yoga? Because of pressure from Christian...
One challenge for writers is to get in background information without interrupting the narrative flow or alienating your reader. This is true whether you’re writing a novel, a business email, or a newspaper column. In a novel, the reader might be in the middle of a tense scene and then suddenly the story grinds to a halt because the author adds a flashback. Or worse, the author starts with...
Fifteen, maybe eighteen years ago when the kids were young—so hard to remember every milestone—we planted a six-foot-high sugar maple and said, Oh, we’ll see it grow tall and beautiful someday, and sure enough the tree must be thirty feet high now, healthy and gorgeous in every season. Such a fine tree is our sugar maple, living proof we were here and time has passed. And this year I planted one...
It’s a perfect Saturday afternoon with the sun shining and we’re strolling along the avenue looking for a place to have lunch. We’re vaccinated and eating out again and starting to feel hopeful the world might be on the mend. The first restaurant we stop in has a slew of picnic tables outside and a bar open to the breeze and hardly anyone there, but they can’t seat us for thirty minutes despite...
I attended hundreds of youth hockey games when Owen was playing. One of the many rinks he played at had a large banner hanging from the rafters that said, “Hard Work Beats Talent When Talent Doesn’t Work Hard.” The message made sense to me because it offered some hope and a way to level the playing field for the less naturally gifted against the talented. Owen wasn’t moved as much–he...
I’ve been using Grammarly for about three years in Google Docs and Gmail, and now I’ve added it to Microsoft Word. This clever tool catches a fair number of items that require my attention. I know, hard to believe, given that I’m a writer. But I always say every writer needs a good editor, and even if Grammarly isn’t an editor, it can help improve your writing (this is not...
Washington Park was in splendor today. Tulips symbolize deep and meaningful love, did you know? You can tell by their sturdiness and vibrancy and perfection of shape. The way they shimmy in the breeze like life itself. The way they fight to keep their petals for as long as nature allows. What I love about tulips are their graceful cups, their petals of myriad hues, their hearty green stalks and...
You either love Quentin Tarantino movies or loathe them. Put me in the love column. I’ve seen most of the films he’s directed, and one of the best is ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD. The story centers around washed-up actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Rick made a name for himself starring in the Western series Bounty Hunter but has recently been...
Although my neighbors—they of the lawn as green and manicured as a fairway at Augusta—might disagree, my lawn is looking its best right now. It’s resplendent with golden dandelions and tiny creeping charlie purple blossoms and delicate white clover flowers. There is a reason for this: I will not put down weedkiller. All those pristine suburban lawns you see can only get that way through the...
Olga Khazan, a writer for The Atlantic who published an opinion piece in the New York Times last month that pissed me off, states “the person who emerges from quarantine doesn’t have to be the same old you.” For those tired of being their same old selves, this might be good news: You can change and it shouldn’t take too long. Khazan goes on: “Researchers have found that adults can change the five...
When we moved into our house 25 years ago, we were one of only a few houses in the neighborhood with a gravel driveway. The look was less formal than blacktop. It fit the cottagey character of our house. But I’ve spent all these years struggling with the gravel. To shovel snow, you must master a special technique of carefully sliding the shovel along the gravel so as not to pick up too much stone...
Still waiting to hear from publishers about THE SUITOR. Almost two months. Doesn’t mean anything–and I’m used to waiting. I think publishers are pretty busy these days canceling the cruel authors and marketing the marginalized ones. But that’s not the point. The point is how do parents handle a situation when their child gets involved with someone they think might be a bad seed...
Telehealth isn’t new, but what a banner year it’s had, thanks in large part to the pandemic. Virtual visits with health care providers have gone way up, across the board, for every health matter. Telehealth makes perfect sense for many health situations, even when there isn’t a risk of COVID. There’s that quick follow-up visit after a procedure. Or monitoring a chronic condition. A medication...
