It was hard not to smile watching Alysa Liu skate at the Olympics. Her short skate was absolutely joyful. For her long program, she put the “free” in free skate. While she was awarded with the gold medal, it was clear that her real reward was just the opportunity to skate.
At one point after she won a journalist shouted to her, “I really enjoyed your free skate.”
A young man in Detroit shared the story of his grandmother who he watched read the Detroit Free Press everyday and gather her neighbors every Friday to share the relevant news of the week. He now works at a local news organization that does the same- providing actionable and urgent information to his community.
A young woman told us about her college advisor in Connecticut who suggested she go home to Puerto Rico because he didn’t think she could cut it in college.…
Earlier this week, I stood on the exact spot where Malcolm X was assassinated in the Audubon Ballroom. The feeling was familiar; having previously visited the Lorraine Motel and Ford’s Theatre where Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln were also killed by assassin’s bullets. It is a solemn experience, marked by sadness and reverence. The contrast of the good and evil we are capable of is palpable.…
I was so impressed by the work done by our village’s Department of Public Works in the aftermath of last week’s snowstorm. They worked tirelessly throughout the storm in an effort to keep up with accumulating snow and keep our roads as safe as possible. But beyond this, the very next day, they somehow made more than 90% of all the snow in our downtown disappear.…
Sitting in the back of a Lyft, watching miles of road roll past me, I found myself reflecting on friendship with Zach Bryan’s new album serving as my soundtrack.
I was coming from an evening out with old friends. Old in the sense I’ve known them most of my adult life. People who I used to see everyday but now see maybe once or twice a year. …
These are a few things I’ve learned this week:
Over several weeks, I had walked by this book in my local Barnes & Noble numerous times. While drawn to its provocative title, I continuously resisted purchasing it. My primary reason was to avoid its difficult subject matter.
Finally last week, I picked the book off the shelf and began to read it. The writing was so clear and moving I felt compelled to buy it.…
The holidays are notoriously a time of year packed with sweets. Cookies, pies and candy are everywhere. But it is also a time full of a different kind of sweet. The kind produced by acts of kindness and thoughtfulness that leave us thinking or saying, “That is so sweet.”
I saw it within my children, my wife, my mom, my sister, my in-laws, and friends. It was not limited, however, to people I knew.…
Christmas has always been one of – if not – the favorite day of the year for me. It is both a wonderful holiday and my birthday.
Our days follow a familiar flow starting with my children coming in to sing happy birthday before we move to the kitchen table and exchange hand made gifts and cards. Their thoughtfulness never fail to warm my heart and moisten my eyes.
The holiday season got off to an early start when I woke up last Tuesday morning and received a gift from my sister.
It was a simple text that read – “Just wanted to say… I Love you! Have a great day!”
Now of course, I know that my sister loves me but it was a sweet and unexpected reminder. It put an instant smile on my face which reappears every time I think about it – including now.…
A little boy in second grade raised his hand presumably to ask a question. Instead he made a pretty profound statement.
“When I get bored, I like to write poetry or short stories. Sometimes, I’ll draw pictures next to them. Thank you.”
The event was a school reading of America Gives Thanks in Charlotte. The teachers were astonished that this specific boy made this specific comment.…
Earlier this week, I heard a story about members of a high school chapter of the National Honor Society who were faking the tutoring commitment they were required to perform. The commitment amounted to a total of 2.5 hours. Probably less than one day’s worth of time on their phone.
Last week, I read about a study out of Harvard that found that students were skipping classes, not doing the class reading, while at the same time the number of A’s had increased by 50%.…
‘Tis the season of lists. Lists of things to do before the holidays. Lists of things we want to accomplish in the new year. And of course Christmas lists – both of the naughty or nice variety and of course the list for gifts.
It is worth noting that people were writing lists before they were writing stories or even sentences. They were among the very first forms of writing and were used for educational purposes and then for commerce.…
As Thanksgiving approaches, I’ve been thinking about the distinction between being thankful and grateful. On one level, they may seem interchangeable – and in fact, I have probably often used them that way. On the other, there is a difference and understanding that distinction may be the key to feeling both.
In short, it appears that feeling thankful is ”typically a more immediate and situational response to a specific benefit, whereas gratitude is a deeper, more profound, and lasting attitude of appreciation.”
I recently watched the film Deliver Me from Nowhere, which chronicled a specific period in Bruce Springsteen’s life. He was on the cusp of super stardom. He had his first “hit” and was coming off a successful tour. While his music label was anxious to capitalize and pushed Springsteen to make something commercial, he instead retreated into a small rental home in Jersey, close to where he grew up.
I started my class late yesterday to allow my students more time to register for their spring classes. The process is typically chaotic with most not getting the classes they need.
I use the word “need” because most of the classes are requirements and depressingly is consistent with their response to this question I asked them: “Do any of you have any classes you’re really looking forward to taking in the spring?”…
When I was younger, I benefitted directly from food stamps. My mom was raising three children on her own off of wages and tips earned from her job as a bartender. There was also a period when she was battling cancer and could earn no money at all.
Even then as a small boy, I felt the stigma of receiving food stamps; recalling specific times when I was told we couldn’t have a specific food item because we either couldn’t afford it or it wasn’t covered.…
It is understandable that many feel powerless today amidst the chaos and calamity found in headlines. At the same time, in many different ways. our everyday actions can be quite powerful – if we choose them to be.
On the very crowded 6 yesterday, a woman struggled to get onto the packed subway car. She asked her fellow passengers to move in. The person immediately in front of her tried to accommodate but could not move in enough to let her board the train.
Last week, I was listening to a podcast about debt. While the host and guest talked about debt in the traditional sense – mortgage, loans, credit cards and negative bank balances – I was most struck by what they called invisible debt. Debt caused not by spending too much but by wanting more. It is a debt driven by desire and social comparison.
The premise of the discussion was trying to unravel the contradiction between the fact that Americans are on average both wealthier and unhappier than their counterparts living in comparable parts of the world.…
A few weeks ago, I was watching TV with my youngest daughter. A commercial came on for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. At the end, they asked for a recommended donation of $20 a month to support a child struggling with cancer. My daughter matter-of-factly asked me if we already support one of their patients. I told her we don’t but that we sponsor four other children through different organizations and have been sponsoring kids since before she was born.…
At lunch on Tuesday, I received an email from Ethan Hawke’s agent. They were passing on the screenplay I pitched to them.
After dinner that same night, I received an email from a literary agent. They were passing on a non-fiction book proposal I had shared.
Passing is a kinder, more gentle term for rejection. Yet it still stings all the same. The number of times someone has passed on a project, proposal, pitch, or offer I’ve shared is innumerable.
My heart was full. I looked out at a sea of smiling second graders. I was returning to the school district that many years ago taught me how to read, write and do arithmetic. I was now there to read my own children’s book, America Gives Thanks, and for this full circle moment I felt so incredibly blessed.
Like I did at their age, almost all of these students live in a low-income household.
In class this week, I asked fifteen college students to write down the names of three people in the world they admired but that they didn’t know personally. Two things struck me. One, almost everyone struggled to come up with three names. Two, no person was mentioned twice.
This inquiry was spurred on from a conversation I had the previous night with a friend. We similarly struggled to find what would be today’s equivalent of Gandhi, Mandela, RBG, Mother Theresa, Eisenhower, Churchill, MLK, and Rosa Parks.…
The world could use more readers like Jack.
Jack was a young boy who bounded into Politics and Prose last weekend while I was doing a reading and signing. His energy and enthusiasm for books was infectious. He had purchased, read and enjoyed America Gives Thanks previously and was now coming in to have it signed. He scurried around the store picking up book after book, exclaiming loudly for all to hear why each “looked good.”…
Two of my favorite books, All The Light We Cannot See and The Unbearable Lightness of Being have light in their titles. I can still remember all the words to my favorite song, This Little Little of Mine from church when I was a little kid. All ruminate on the need to see, feel, act and share light.
These reminders are in contrast to our lives, which can often feel heavy or even dark.…
