Windshield Time

Windshield Time

My Dad, bless him, has been a powerful influence in my life. He taught me to drive, and I marvel at his patience and self-control, thinking back on it. I was apparently unaware that one should slow down prior to making a turn. If it was possible for a Ford LTD station...
The Sisyphus of Normal and Just Being Sam

The Sisyphus of Normal and Just Being Sam

It’s been a hot minute since I sat down to actually write a shitty first draft.   I wrote a piece about using my humor as a self-defense mechanism, which in turn was me using my humor as a self defense mechanism. I stuck a pin in that. We didn’t publish it. Not...
Throwing Boulders and Chipping Away at It

Throwing Boulders and Chipping Away at It

It was a few months ago, sitting in bed over coffee — right in the thick of so much change that it felt a bit like living in the eye of a hurricane — that I mentioned this study to Tom about the Holmes Rahe Stressor Scale. I was laughing. Holmes-Rahe Life...
Check box. Live life. Cancer.

Check box. Live life. Cancer.

From Sam through Patti…    I have breast cancer. There, I said it. I never thought something like this would ever happen to me. I eat mostly healthy, I exercise, I don’t smoke, and I have a social drink. I’ve never really had any health issues my whole life...
Chemotherapy and Speed Bumps

Chemotherapy and Speed Bumps

I don’t think I remember exactly when or where I met Sam. Sixteen or seventeen years ago? Is it possible it was that long ago? It was at an endurance ride, of that I’m sure.   She reminded me of my mom, my birth mom, long gone, but whenever I meet a...