The Cranky Farmer Who Never Was

August 19, 2016

Two days ago I was walking Yoda early one morning around my parents’ rural Wisconsin neighborhood. Because I work from home, I’ve been fortunate that Yoda and I have been able to spend every August for the past six years here. It’s quiet, the people are friendly, and Mom and Dad live on a lake, so […]

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A Cowboy Poet Gets Real at Sideman Jamboree

May 24, 2016

His name was Lon and his hands were trembling as he looked down at the words written on the crinkled piece of faded yellow college ruled notebook paper that he was tightly gripping. “I’ve never read this poem in public,” he quietly said, his voice shaking. Lon Hall is a cowboy poet from Montana. He’s […]

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The Huffington Post – Art, Diversity and the Human Race

April 7, 2016

I just wrote a post on The Huffington Post. You may think at first glance that it is about politics. It’s not. It’s actually about so much more than that. It is about art, diversity, and the psychology of a person’s sense of self. Read it here: Art, Diversity and the Human Race Did you […]

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Focus on Peace

April 4, 2016

  I found myself in a Hollywood tattoo parlor six days after four airplanes were hijacked, two crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one in a Pennsylvania field. During the devastating chaos that first week following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, nothing made sense. Nothing, […]

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I’m Removing my Invisibility Cloak Because Life is Better With Friends

March 27, 2016

I have a super hero power that I invoke when Yoda and I road trip: I luxuriate in being invisible. No one knows me, so we sit and people watch for hours without interruption, without that maddening and foolish little voice in my head that fears judgment for having walked outside with my hair slung […]

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An Open Letter to the New Year – 2016

January 12, 2016

Dear 2016, Last night Yoda and I were walking alone in the dark. Dark as in pitch black. Our driveway is about ¼ mile long gravel path, so trekking to the road and back has become our evening ritual. We are in the woods so there are no street lights. The only light was a narrow […]

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Yoda and the Stairs (a/k/a Change. Is. Hard.)

December 31, 2015

In 2009, when I lived in Los Angeles, my friend Angela and I decided to enroll our dogs in agility classes. Angela’s dog Henry is a Bichon mix and has the fine motor skills of a stunt dog. Yoda, being part boxer, has the muscular physique of an athlete. Angela and I were convinced our […]

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Being Chicken of Chickens

October 18, 2015

Life has an interesting way of forcing us to face our fears. It’s terrifying to face them, but it’s also wholly liberating once you have done so. The past five years of my life have involved near constant facing of fears: driving around the U.S. with my dog, moving across country to a state where […]

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Why Are Dogs So Happy?

September 5, 2015

  One of my happiest places on earth is at my parents’ lake house in rural Wisconsin. I can say without doubt that it is one of Yoda’s most beloved spots too, which is why I’m so lucky that we have been able to road trip here so I can work remotely for the month of […]

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The Huffington Post – Wisconsin’s Sunflowers

August 6, 2015

Sunflowers are quite possibly the world’s cheeriest flower. With their large vibrant yellow petals, they look much like a bright smiling sun. Feeling blue? Then perhaps you should consider standing in a field of ½ million sunflowers. It’s like injecting yourself with an oversized dose of optimism. You can do just that at Sunflower Days […]

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