When he was seven years old, he knew every major league baseball team and could tell you what teams were in the American League and which were National. He enjoyed watching baseball on television and liked to imitate the players. When he dressed for little league, the way he wore his uniform had to resemble […]

Dogs and dog owners. I was grouchy around them for most of my life. It only took four bad experiences between the ages of nine and 12 to fill me with enough anxiety, fear, and anger – and a dash of resentment – to last the next 40 years (see “This Lucky Dog”). Six years […]

I heard my mom screaming my name. It was three in the morning. I found her in the bathroom talking to my dad “Don…Don…wake up!” He was sitting on the commode, leaning back on the tank, eyes open, not breathing. My dad was an anxious guy. Like me, he internalized most of his worries and […]

I enjoy cleaning our home. Resetting, reducing clutter, a clean floor. When I recently lost my job and a month later my dad, I began intentionally doing a lot of cleaning for therapy. I’ve also been helping others keep their own homes clean. It’s been a healthy way to ease through change by helping others […]

After I made the basketball team in seventh grade, I found out my teammates and I had to “dress” for all road games. You know, a better representation when you’re visiting a town. That meant we had to wear a tie or a “nice” sweater and slacks, no jeans. Over 44 years later, some middle […]

Recently I was driving to have a heart-to-heart chat with my brother. I started singing a song I had heard 37 years ago. The song, “Talk To One Another.” was written and recorded by Brown Bannister. I’m pretty sure he only produced one album. While I couldn’t remember all of the words, I knew most […]

The story goes: Hall of Fame pitcher Warren Spahn was on the mound in a tie game when legendary power hitter Jimmie Foxx was coming to bat. Spahn’s coach called timeout came to the mound and told Spahn “don’t throw it high and outside, he’ll hit it out of the park.” Spahn threw the next […]

Mind’s Eye: the mental faculty of conceiving imaginary or recollected scenes  ~Merriam-Webster By the time I was in a summer traveling baseball league in middle school, I had been visualizing my success for a couple of years. With a cassette tape recorder and earphone to boost my imagination, I would lay on my bed or sit […]

In 2011 I watched the movie “Moneyball” 12 times in theatres. Afterward, I bought the DVD and have watched and listened to portions of the movie weekly ever since. The story is filled, beginning to end, with lessons about business, life, and leadership. This week I saw “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” for the fifth […]

All of my immediate family members were long-time assembly line worker, factory types. The holiday meal was often surrounded by discussions of possible strikes, unions, and “job-bumping.” Great people and hard working. In the fall of 1989, I was traveling in a car with some co-workers to a team-building weekend at Black River Development Center […]