Category: Personal Essays
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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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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.
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My Turn
We didn’t lose generosity to greed. We lost it to convenience. The voice is still there. It’s just waiting for someone to act on it. New post at fiveminuteobservations.com.
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Deserving of Walkout Music
Does anyone throw a party for staying? For quietly inconveniencing yourself when leaving made more sense? Nobody cues the walkout music for that. But they should.
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On Time
Would God really bring me halfway around the world to die in a foreign country? Find out today. Five Minute Observations.
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Worth Reading. Worth Hearing.
The algorithm rewards volume. And packaging. But what does it do with the craft? Here’s what I didn’t say in the comment box.
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What You Hear
One word changes everything. The four-day email thread wasn’t about grammar.
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She Lost Me at Ontological
Four times. Then I gave up. Here’s what storytelling can do that complicated writing can’t.
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The Wall That Isn’t There
Charlie wiped away a tear. “She kept showing up. She didn’t have to. But she did.” His first sponsor was a Black woman from Sikeston. She was the first person who ever loved him for who he was.
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The Dogs Always Said Yes
Some Saturdays, you load up and head downtown to Spanish Street. Freeze-dried candy. Lemonade. Pretzel bites from Wat’s Knots Pretzels. And the dogs. Bella rarely asked permission. The dogs never minded.
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With Me When It’s Scariest
I was five the first time I dialed a phone. A yellow rotary on the wall. My grandmother’s number. My dad behind me on the barstool. I’ve been dialing scary numbers ever since.
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UFO Sighting in Missouri: She Wasn’t Lying
She pointed at the blurry picture on her phone. “This right here — this is a real UFO.” Traveling these curvy Missouri hills, she waved it in front of me. For a second, I thought we might crash.
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I Knew His Face
I didn’t know his name. I knew his face. About a man at a round table, a string of numbers in blue ink, and the question I’m still asking about whether I got close enough.