Tag: 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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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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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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The Cheap Seats
Yesterday I wrote replies for strangers on LinkedIn. By the fifth one, I caught it. Same question, every time. I just didn’t know I was asking it.
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Spud, Hanover, Tweed, and Spiner: Tri-Cities Iowa
Floyd Patterson lost the dairy. Lost the land. Lost about eight years to the wrong people. Now he sits in a booth at Janice’s diner, nursing coffee and an unlit cigarette, glaring at anybody who tells him to put a sock in it. Some towns hold onto their people. Some people hold onto their towns.…
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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.
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Writing That Happened
I read a faith column in Sunday’s paper. Three numbered points. Charlie Brown opener. A tidy bow at the end. And nowhere did the writer tell me what he was afraid of. New post on Five Minute Observations. What does showing up actually look like? Link in bio.
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The Tomb He Owned
One man steps into the story of Jesus without introduction, almost a footnote. Joseph of Arimathea. A member of the Jewish High Council. A good man who had been quiet until one afternoon, when he wasn’t. What would I have done? What would you?
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Three Doors In
Three doors. A diner. A highway. A social media post. Three stories that have nothing in common, except me showing up, paying attention, and then getting out of the way. Which one stayed with you?
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You Almost Walk By
Most storytelling describes values. Incarnational storytelling makes you feel them before they’re named. The difference between an audience and a witness.
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Do You Remember When?
One flavor of Doritos. Three sizes of drinks. A show inside a show inside a memory. Yesterday’s break room conversation turned into something bigger.
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Embers
I smacked Ray’s arm out of the way, waiting for him to swing back. He didn’t. His older brother held me back. Fifty minutes later I was kneeling in front of the wood stove, still burning. And the fire wasn’t mine.
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What If They Say Yes
Most people won’t admit they’re afraid of good news. Or that time passing terrifies them more than failure does. I’ll go first. Two overlooked fears. An ancient promise. And one question: what if they say yes?
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Between The Buildings
pass through the breezeway at Gibson without thinking about it. Most days I hurry through, dodging conversations. This time someone called my name. I almost didn’t stop. I’m glad I did.
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Be Nice
GeVonee said two words that stopped me cold. I laughed. Then I thought about it all day. Read more about it at Five Minute Observations.