When I first got serious about writing, I was especially interested in people and the geography that defines who they are. This was particularly germane to Maine, my home state, and the first book I ended up writing, about the history of town team baseball. Those small towns where baseball was played on warm July evenings, the lights rimming the diamond burning brightly somewhere in the middle of a small village, drew me back to the place and time, capturing the memories of the men who inhabited similar patches of grass and dirt across the Pine Tree State. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: August 2013
Maybe I’ll Get Training Wheels
Four years ago, I had a nasty bike accident. I went over the handlebars on a road with broken pavement and I now have a scar on my chin that I cover with a goatee.
What mitigated the damage of that crash was being properly outfitted; the gloves I was wearing saved severe hand abrasions when I planted before hitting my chin. I was wearing a helmet that day and I always do when cycling/biking.
Hundreds of miles later and a few minor mishaps, I had another accident last night. Continue reading
The Direction of Kindness
Kindness happens one act at a time.
We’re now past graduation season and college grads are working (hopefully) or at least enjoying their final summer before entering the real world.
There are certain types of graduation speeches that receive accolades and some of them become enshrined. This one, just discovered by this writer at The New York Times, is by George Saunders. By Saunders’ own admission, it riffs on a common theme—the theme here being kindness and living a life that’s kinder and gentler to others. Continue reading