And maybe we deserved it Monty was the new kid. Monty was bigger than every kid in fourth grade. Hell he was bigger than the sixth graders as just a fourth grader. But he was new. And he was big. We were all taken aback when he showed up in…

aka “the part right before” Housekeeping Note Since I believe my best teaching comes through personal stories, and since I so appreciated my time as moderator of Blake Snyder’s Save The Cat! L.A. Writer’s Group, each chapter of this book is basically arranged so you, the reader, can follow along…

I’m going with yes I Still Got It Yesterday I took a break from our beautiful Northern California fall weather to address my nemesis — the garage, and as I was consolidating a few old boxes into newer boxes I stumbled upon the tiny hand-held invention shown above. Intrepid eyes may recognize another rarity — the since discontinued…

(or how I got mom’s bp down from 211 to 126) A friend just asked me how my mom and I are doing, I thought I’d share my response: Hey thanks — Yep we’re doing good. Yesterday was one year that I rolled in from Nashville at midnight, October 27, 2022 finding a…

Being now 82, and with a limp from a blood clot in her foot, mom walks as tentatively inside the house as she does out. She almost always makes sure to be holding onto something. When we moved in I bought one of those suction cup handles for the shower…

Turns out I was right Too harsh? Ok— but one brief text can definitely kill the thrill of telling a good tale — and dilute the dopamine hit of sharing a story 100% fresh. I Still Got It Yesterday I took advantage of a break in our record-setting California rain-fest to let the garage breath, and as I was…

Here I go again (maybe not) on my own We Made it through February. For being the shortest month that damn grouping of days and weeks sure wore out its welcome. And how. I’m not going to sugarcoat it that may have been the hardest month of my life so far. …

3:59 AM I sit on the edge of the little guest bed that I’ve been rolling out into the living room each night — since mom has been sleeping on the couch — the fifth such time on this night. I sit in the dark and think — how long can we…

What a great title right? I thought so too until I remembered that time Richard Simmons invited me into his kitchen for a pep-talk. As I Drove Across the country in late 2022, embarking on an unknown new chapter of life that began with a shaky and concerning phone voice (my mom’s), packing…