Don Hall 10/14/24 Don Hall 10/14/24

I Believe… [Corporate Culture]

…that the overall culture of any organization does not come from the top down but from how those on the bottom are treated. If the janitors feel valued, well compensated, and respected, the bathrooms will shine.

David Himmel 10/11/24 David Himmel 10/11/24

Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of October 6, 2024

Ennui sounds cute and romantic because it’s French. But the French have a long history of violence and rape, and ennui may well have been the catalyst to most of it.

David Himmel 10/9/24 David Himmel 10/9/24

Mastering Disappointment: A Kamala Harris Love Affair

Kamala had the great benefit of a fantastic summer romance working in her favor. A short lived, white hot affair that would end before it could burn out. With about three months from candidacy to Election Day, I wouldn’t grow tired of Kamala. Neither would America. The joy she and her campaign were trafficking would carry us to a victory. Then we could settle into the day-to-day doldrums of romance. Probably fall out of love and elect someone else in 2028.

Elizabeth Harper 10/8/24 Elizabeth Harper 10/8/24

Ode/Apologia to/for My Body

Don Hall 10/7/24 Don Hall 10/7/24

I Believe… [Downshifting]

...that learning to downshift is more difficult than it seems but is a skill well worth mastering.

David Himmel 10/4/24 David Himmel 10/4/24

Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of September 29, 2024

My 2-year-old is in this phase where he points to every woman he sees on the street or on TV or in books and says, Mommy!” He does the same thing with men, exclaiming, “Daddy!” Yesterday, at the grocery store, he picked up a Star magazine with Diddy on the cover, pointed to Diddy and shouted, “Daddy!” My son doesn’t see color, wealth, or crimes against humanity. He sees only gender. To prove this theory, I will show him a photo of Rachel Maddow to see if he says, “Mommy” or “Daddy.”

Elizabeth Harper 10/1/24 Elizabeth Harper 10/1/24

Just Another Bad Habit

Don Hall 9/30/24 Don Hall 9/30/24

I Believe… [Expanding Empathy]

...that the people you encounter whose very existence challenges your worldview are an opportunity to expand rather than contract your empathy and common understanding.

David Himmel 9/27/24 David Himmel 9/27/24

Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of September 22, 2024

Ethical lying is a way for unethical people to feel good about themselves. Nothing more.

David Himmel 9/26/24 David Himmel 9/26/24

The Lonely Live Goose

Silently soaring through the sky
Like a bird of prey hunting solo for breakfast.
But you won’t dive.
You only attack on the ground.
Chasing runners and bikers and preschoolers on a nature walk.

Don Hall 9/23/24 Don Hall 9/23/24

I Believe… [Anticipation]

...that anticipating something wonderful is often more fun than the wonderful thing. If the two match up, that’s the juice, gang.

David Himmel 9/20/24 David Himmel 9/20/24

Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of September 15, 2024

I am not satisfied until my mosquito bites have been scratched into permanent scars. This is a literal and metaphorical commentary on the self.

David Himmel 9/19/24 David Himmel 9/19/24

Being Scared is the Dumbest Thing | 2nd Generation

That dark room is yours, and yours alone.
Its shadows are by your design.
The monster under your bed is just the fears you haven’t felt yet.
Don’t worry about them now.
They’ll find you soon enough.

Don Hall 9/18/24 Don Hall 9/18/24

DIVORCE: A Survivor's Guide: Part Three

Yes. You are now divorced. Stew on the reality for a moment.

Guest User 9/17/24 Guest User 9/17/24

Music and The Mind’s Eye

As I reached the front steps of the library I saw the source of the blaring ballad: a beige, 2013 Cadillac XTS.

Don Hall 9/16/24 Don Hall 9/16/24

I Believe… [Puppy Casserole?]

...that if anyone in the country is guilty of eating dogs and cats they all live in the Appalachians.

David Himmel 9/13/24 David Himmel 9/13/24

Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of September 8, 2024

Get out. Out of your house, out of your head, out of the doom scroll, out of your way. Get out and go get it.

Don Hall 9/11/24 Don Hall 9/11/24

In Praise of Blasphemy

Blasphemy is a method to force the mind to confront the conformist dogma at play at any given time. To crack open the calcified bone cages of concrete certainty and challenge the mind so happy to be imprisoned.

David Himmel 9/10/24 David Himmel 9/10/24

Running Through Your Past

I wound through parts of Flossmoor I didn’t even know existed, despite growing up there. Oh! That’s where Flossmoor Hills Elementary is. I just never had any reason to journey to that part of town. In the familiar parts, I found myself thinking about my childhood. Acknowledging all the landmarks with memories. That’s where I ditched school that one time and smoked cigarettes when I should have been in math class. This is where my high school friends and I would meet before school to smoke cigarettes. There’s where there used to be a church where I once tried to woo a girl by playing her punk songs as we sat in her car—it didn’t work—and would sometimes smoke cigarettes. I wasn’t a teenage smoker, but, apparently, when I did smoke, I did it all over town.

Don Hall 9/9/24 Don Hall 9/9/24

I Believe… [The Tease of Autumn]

...that, after a summer broiling in a giant outdoor venue for hours a day, the tease of jacket weather is as sexy as the collarbone revealed with an off-the-shoulder dress.