Teeth, women, and cars

They say you can tell how a man will treat a woman by the way he takes care of his car. If he keeps his car cleaned and tuned, presumably he’ll treat his wife well. If cars can be barometers of future behavior, I think teeth can be indicators for the way we’ve lived in the [...]

Old books: the art of living, 1910 style

By Arnold Bennett (1867 – 1931)
Considering that we spend our whole lives in this human machine, that it is our sole means of contact and compromise with the rest of the world, we devote to it very little attention. When I say “we” I mean our inmost spirits, the instinctive part. And when I say “the [...]

Group: He said…

It was a new group and we were introducing ourselves; name, brief background.
“I had to leave,” he said, folding his arms in front of him. “She didn’t throw me out but I couldn’t stay. I’ve been living in my van in my parents’ driveway. They were letting me stay in my old room for awhile, [...]

Group: She said…

It was check-in time.
“You want to start, Blythe?” asked the facilitator.
Blythe re-crossed her legs and adjusted a hem. “Let’s see, it was last Thursday. I thought I’d get part of the lawn mowed while dinner was in the oven. I couldn’t start the mower and I just went into this rage. I don’t know what [...]

Washington State: toothpicks

Imagine dumping out a box of toothpicks on your living room floor in a small pile. Now imagine you have an entire case of boxes of toothpicks and you make a row of little piles of toothpicks all the way across your livingroom.
Now imagine every single one of these toothpicks turns into a full-size tree – a [...]

Sea Bass; they grow on trees, don’t they?

When I was a kid we fished off the shore of Ocean City, New Jersey, one glorious summer day. After hours of riding atop thrilling roller coaster waves and catching everything from a choice flounder to sting rays, an eel, a sand shark, and a slew of sea robins, we ran out of bait. On the way back to [...]

Old Books: How to live on 24 hours a day

Excerpts from “How to Live on Twenty-four Hours a Day,” 1910, by Arnold Bennet:
“I have seen an essay, How to Live on Eight Shillings a Week. But I have never seen an essay, How to Live on Twenty-four Hours a Day. Yet it has been said that time is money. That proverb understates the case. [...]

Storing firewood naked

I store my firewood naked. Uncovered, that is. Contrary to popular belief, covering firewood with a tarp or storing it in a shed keeps it damp, not dry. Split firewood acts like a sponge; it soaks up the rain and draws in humidty from the air. It will draw in this dampness no matter how carefully covered. Covering [...]

Unique Jobs: sales rep

I operate a resume writing service. I interview new people every day. In twenty years, I’ve found that everyone has a unique story to tell. That’s my own take on it; fact is, most folks don’t realize there is anything especially unique about themselves.
Here’s someone from recently:
She sells software and technical training packages to engineering firms. She’s [...]

Washington State: sling man on Puget Sound

Washington is big country. Big land, water, mountains and sky. Almost as big as Alaska. As an easterner, when I think of water, I picture a river I can throw a stone across, or a lake small enough I can tell the colors of the cottages on the far shore. Space-wise, Washington is kind of a halfway point between my New York backyard and [...]