Today on my Facebook page, when I talked about going to the local rally in solidarity with the kids who had organized the March for Our Lives in DC, a friend of a friend said this to me: “Owning a gun or buying a gun when adjudicated mentally unstable is […]
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
I’m discovering that a lot of people interested in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders don’t know where to start getting education about them. This entry will be my repository of links that give basic information that I think is vital for parents, caregivers, professionals, and clinicians to know. It is not […]
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
The world got the word today that Stephen Hawking has died. He had a huge influence on my metaphysics because of his statement that a creator–God–was not required in order for there to be a Big Bang. It was at that point that I felt comfortable not assuming God any […]
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
I married into a family that includes two young women born to (the same, as it happens) birth mother who drank. They were both diagnosed early on with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). I had heard of of FAS, and I had heard of the “Not a Single Drop” campaign, whose […]
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
When we left Our Hero, he was reflecting on how Beesing et al had said, matter-of-factly, “[Enneagramic Eights] do not like to face the fact that in spite of their outward behavior of strength they are marshmallows inside.” I think often of the advice, “Love like you’ve never been hurt,” […]
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
Nearly half my life ago, circa 1990, I was first exposed to the Enneagram as a personality-typing tool that might give me insight into how I operate vis-à-vis members of my family of origin. The first book I read on the topic reflected Jesuit explorations of the tool for spiritual […]
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
I have a pretty high IQ, am highly educated, and am extremely articulate. None of these facts presupposes any of the others, but they all happen to converge in me. I learned in grad school more than in college to think critically, but now I can’t easily turn off my […]
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
We have mashed up two old essays about the name that I changed to and have posted them here, but now I want to talk about the nuts and bolts and about the social implications of changing one’s name as I have viewed the process up close, once when I […]
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
A conversation today highlighted something I have often thought about. I have always been someone who errs on the side of giving unnecessary information. It has always been easy for me to spill my guts, to tell the story in great detail, to spin out the yarn. My friend Eileen […]
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
A PROSAIC INTERPRETATION OF KIPLING’S “IF” FOR THE DAWN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Originally published in 2003. Here are some reliable indicators of having reached real maturity. If you manifest them, rest assured that you’ll be unhindered in your ability to create and appreciate as many “peak experiences” as you […]
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes