Category: Five Minute Observation
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Conspiracy Theory #396: The Roundabouts
I am NOT a conspiracy theorist. But Jackson has a new roundabout, and I can’t remember what used to be there. Help me out.
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One Page Turned Into a Week of Saying ‘I Like You’
1980s. New kid. A girlfriend with a binder full of hearts, a Mormon friend, a Coke machine full of Pepsi, and one simple request: write me a real note. I should have known better than to start.
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Conspiracy Theory #381: Cheetos Trucks
I’ve seen it more than once. More than twice. And now I have questions no one seems able to answer.
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Free. But Clueless.
We were free. Gone for hours at a time, no cell phone to track us — nothing more than a curfew and a number where we might be reached.
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Wrong! Do It Again!
R-rated movies in the 1980s. A scathing TV news interview. And a few GenX kids. Seriously. We knew what was up.
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Hidden Treasures
Two kids on the floor of a San Francisco aisle. A movie that made Harrison Ford a superstar. And twenty posters that were never supposed to exist.
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Saying Goodbye. Saying Yes.
A Sunday drive. One last goodbye before leaving for Michigan. Turns out a grandbaby has more pull than the Pacific.
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I Blame Byrne
It’s all Byrne’s fault. Him and Stephen Colbert. Alissa actually watched it with me. It was as bad as I remembered it was.
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Like Friends Do
A chance run-in at Stoneridge Mall. A blue VW Bug. A smoky apartment and a Nintendo nobody would turn off. Sometimes showing up for a friend is reason enough.
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Knowing It Will
“You blow it and watch it drift, hoping it doesn’t pop. But you watch anyway, knowing it will.” Some moments you hold on to.
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First Date
“I don’t appreciate what you said about my friends today.” I had no idea what she meant. That would turn into my first date. Read how it all happened.
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The Teeter-Totter
Most days we find our rhythm. But the other day? Both of us were down. At the same time. The key is balance.
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Who Told You?
Some voices don’t need your permission to stay. But they don’t have the right to either.
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Death of a Taste Bud — Listen to Me
California Pizza Kitchen. Barbeque chicken. Cauliflower crust. Way, way too hot! One bite. One bump on my tongue. And a whole essay about being unseen. New on Five Minute Observations.
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The Dragon Remembers
The dragon never fought. Never growled. Never breathed fire after the first few weeks being tethered to the chain. That was the hardest part for the Keeper to explain. The Dragon Remembers. Five Minute Observations.
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Is Resilience Worse Than the Waiting?
The aid station behind you is too far to go back. The next one is miles ahead. That’s not just ultrarunning — it’s the writing life. A new essay on resilience, silence, and why you need to keep going.
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Still Driving
Two years I’ve held onto this, thinking it wasn’t worth sharing. I changed my mind because it was a perfect day for driving. Some mornings even when you follow all the rules, accidents happen.