Recovery. Sobriety. Living Wise.
I recently heard of the passing of Norma Johnston, a tribal elder of the Swinomish Nation and a friend of mine. Norma helped me get beyond my religious bigotry. Here’s that story. In 1988 I bought a cabin on tribal land that I leased from Norma’s family. The cabin wasn’t far from La Conner, beautifully nestled in a quiet cove on Puget Sound a mile … Continue reading When I Lost My Bigotry
As the grandson of Irish immigrants I loved listening to my grandfather tell stories. Grandpa spoke in a deep Irish brogue with delightful, strange inflections. His sentences always ended on a higher note than they began. But what I loved most was the illustrative way he used words to make a point. One summer while we were visiting my grandparents in Soap Lake, Washington, Dad … Continue reading The Irish Just Know How To Say It
No topic has been of more consequence to me over the years than that of becoming a man. Perhaps it’s because I labored over my own difficult journey into maturity, or maybe it’s because I got to be Erin’s stepfather and uncle to some wonderful nephews. Whatever the reason, I’ve given a lot of thought to how boys grow into men. I’ve come to believe … Continue reading On Becoming a Man (Like Frank)
I recently checked in with Paul Schrijnen, an old friend who lives in London, and asked him, “What’s going on over there?” I was referring to Brexit, the UK’s departure from the European Union. I got back this stunning reply, “We face the greatest peril in peacetime since before 1914.” How similar that statement feels to my own experience of politics in America, where our president … Continue reading Confronting Our Big, Fat Collective Anxiety
I’ve been thinking about The Wizard of Oz and the journey of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion. The Yellow Brick Road they traveled was no cakewalk. It was a strange and mysterious route filled with maddening twists and turns. Yet it was the route to getting what they wanted and needed in life, so it should come as no surprise the … Continue reading Surviving the Yellow Brick Road