On Turning 46 | Removing Gravity
Things had been heavy. The weight of failure, the weight of doubt, the weight of responsibility, the weight of disappointment, the weight of guilt, the weight of anger, the weight of annoyance. The weight of the blankets I tried to hide under. So much gravity. But this year has been a year of removing that gravity. I welcome this forty-sixth birthday with open arms and the bearable weight of still being alive and what I’ve managed to learn in the last three hundred and sixty-five days.
Approaching the Sixth Decade
Sixty is around the corner. What lessons did 59 hold?
Thirteen Years Beyond the Sell-By Date | What I Learned in 2023
What, then, was learned in this fifty-eighth year?
On Turning 43 | A Birthday Reflection
“I must make what happens to me good for me.”
The 56th Year in Lessons Learned | Notes from an Old-ish Man
I was born on February 3, 1966. I have just completed my 56th stroll around the calendar and walking those dirt roads toward the inevitable. What have I gleaned from those 365 days that merit sharing here?
Birthday Reflections of a Year in Lockdown
I need to pause and be proud of myself every now and again
I’ve never been one to rest on their laurels. And I’ve never been one for daily affirmations or being really proud of making little steps toward a big goal. I’m not that shallow or weak. But being asked to write for The Atlantic and the President of the United States is pretty cool—and kind of a big deal.
I Can't Drive 55 | Lessons Learned in the 55th Year
Sometimes I wonder if there’s anything else. I wonder if I’d miss anything important if I simply ceased to breathe on the couch I bought back in Chicago as it sits in Nevada.
...that if being a prostitute is just ‘sex work’ then why is it awkward if your manager at the local Starbucks offers you a raise for a blow job? It’s just work, right? “I’ll have a Chai Latte and a rim job. I’ll keep the tip.”