In memory of my dear friend Thomas “Luke” Lukaszek — Yesterday I woke up from a dream about a former co-worker and friend, Chris, who had a stroke that he only partially recovered from. I thought briefly that maybe it was a sign that Chris passed away. But then my thoughts quickly jumped to Luke. …

Near Death Experiences Bring New Hope to Life — Have you ever had a Near Death Experience (NDE)? If not, maybe you haven’t heard or paid much attention to the term and don’t know what it means. As you probably guessed, it’s pretty much self-explanatory. In a word, it’s literally the experience of being nearly dead. But it’s a…

Today’s climate of systemic racism implores us all to search within — I am white. I grew up in a predominantly white community in a small town in western Canada. The one black person in town was a child adopted by a white family. Everyone knew his first name whether they knew the family or not. …

Remember this simple copywriting strategy to write winning titles — I learned a lesson the other day about writing titles. More specifically, I was reminded something I learned many years ago in training to be a copywriter. It is this: never approach the task of writing a title lightly. …

2000 years ago three Stoics mastered the art of self-reflection — I started writing daily in a journal about 40 years ago. Back then my purpose was to record my thoughts, experiences, and responses to those experiences. What locked me into the act of journaling back then was the multi-layered benefits. Today, 40 years later, I can honestly report that I’ve…

Suprising source of comfort for this solo traveler in Mexico — I felt eyes on me. The feeling was, ironically, not when I was out but when I was inside my vacation condo in Bucerias, Mexico. By the end of the day, the mystery was solved. No longer did I tremor with thoughts of an imaginary pervert next door ogling me…

A microfiction story to bid summer farewell — The ocean and the moon had captivated Jules’ imagination all her life. Sitting atop a cluster of rock, looking out at the cold Pacific Ocean, she felt a chill start at the top of her spine. Tip toeing downward, it lightly brushed each vertebrae until it reached the middle of…

“I absolutely feel an ongoing obligation to every source that was brave enough to help expose injustice” — The most shocking story to shake our culture to the bones in recent times — which morphed into a gazillion more stories — began the ‘Me Too’ movement. It began with a few solid journalists at the New York Times, namely Megan Twohey, Jodi Kantor, and Ronan Farrow. …

Forget the sob story…just turn to a new chapter! — Today I rediscovered yet another wondrous feature of my brain. It started with reflection. Thinking back on summer now that September’s here, I recalled July. July was my poster child month, as I sailed through the days with satisfaction of near-daily publishing on Medium. Then August snuck up on me…