Ah, personality quizzes. In bygone days, one took these in magazines. My favorite story about magazine quizzes was when a friend and I went to our newly married friends’ house for Thanksgiving. While they were preparing for dinner in the kitchen, Mark and I idly picked up a Cosmopolitan lying nearby and paged through it. [...]
The first summer I worked at the CVC, I contemplated the prospect of CampFIRE (it was then called CiViC Leadership Camp. See the need for re-branding?). The program consists of five days at a remote camp in the Bighorn Mountains with 30 or so thirteen-year-olds. If that prospect doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of [...]
A picture is worth a thousand words. I’ve always credited Kodak for that, but perhaps I should dig deeper for attribution. Regardless, I have found that so much meaning is instantly conveyed by images, as opposed to mere words. And you know how seriously I take my words. The CVC hosted our first Essential Photovoice [...]
I was not an early adopter of exercise. When I say not an early adopter, I was more of an active dissenter of the whole concept for a couple of decades. My biggest exertion for the first 12 years of my life was walking across the street to get the mail. My mom had to [...]
Did everyone survive Thanksgiving a few pounds heavier but with familial relationships mostly intact? ‘Tis the season for ugly political discussions over the big bird. There’s nothing quite like mixing alcohol, simmering resentments, buttery carbohydrates, and long-term misunderstandings to make for unfortunate dinner conversations featuring raised voices and pounding fists. Here at the CVC, we’ve [...]
Over a drink with some friends the other night, I asked for ideas for this week’s column. One suggested the subject of regret as it pertains to skills your parents attempted to teach you, but you disdainfully waved off at the time. She was particularly disgusted with herself, nigh on these 30 years later, that [...]
If you missed the ads in between the political spots, it's back-to-school time. I have no idea why January, February, and March can’t go by as fast as June, July, and August, but they don’t. It’s a cruel cosmic mystery. My 17-year-old son, Nick, is a senior this year. This is impossible to fathom. I [...]
I’ve recently returned from our youth leadership camp, CampFIRE. Thirty-six incoming high school freshmen from Sheridan and Johnson counties kept Julie, I, and the YMCA camp counselors active and on our toes. It’s a 5-day, 4-night camp up at Camp Roberts above Buffalo, and I am not exaggerating when I estimate that 65-90% of the [...]
I find it mind-blowing that we hosted Thrive vs. Survive Study Circles on Poverty ten years ago. Ten years! My children were ten and seven, my face was unlined, and spare time was a distant dream. Now I have teenagers who drive, I read novels, and our community has Parent Liaisons, a Big Brothers Big [...]
March 31 was a big day for my friend, Sandra. When you read this, she will be one of the few, the proud, the voluntarily retired. I know this because she's been making her friends look at the retirement countdown on her phone daily. Sometimes more than that. And once in a while, we'll even [...]
