I spoke at the Milwaukee Montessori School last Wednesday, so I missed out on all the Olympic frenzy going on back here in Chicago last week. The Montessori mom who volunteered to drive Hanni and me back to our hotel after the presentation was the only person to even mention Chicago’s bid for the 2016 […]

This Thursday Mike, Hanni and I head to North Carolina. I’m doing a book signing at Manteo Booksellers on Saturday, and we’ll spend the rest of the time swimming in the ocean, eating fresh seafood, and visiting old friends How’d we end up with friends in North Carolina? We used to live there! During the […]

A story on All Things Considered last Monday reported that U.S. soldiers are teaching Iraqi security forces how to use bomb-sniffer dogs. The NPR reporter interviewed Army Staff Sgt. Aaron Meier, an American adviser to the Iraqi National Canine Program. “The greatest tool you have in your inventory when working with dogs is love. A […]

While I was reading Frank McCourt’s obituary in the New York Times, a quote about writing his memoir Angela’s Ashes caught my eye. Or, okay, my ear. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, but I had to write it anyway. I had to get it out of my system.” I […]

1987. A hot, humid day in Champaign, Ill. Mike and I are perched on stools at the Esquire Lounge. My folded cane sits atop the bar, forming a rigid white line that separates my beer glass from Mike’s. The discussion? How can I get to the pool on my own to swim laps. The stranger […]