Father’s Day is here, and I’d like to make this public statement: The most influential man in my life was my father. Because of him, I’m a writer. He was a high school English teacher. One of the best and most profound memories I have of my father was listening to him read to me … Read more
It’s been a memorably difficult year for most of us. The pandemic and all the challenges that have come with it have created chaos in so many lives. It would be easy to look back and see mostly darkness, but as the year draws to a close, I’m going to focus on what, for me, … Read more
Today, this trunk of a body grows another ring. Today, I turn seventy-one. Yesterday, despite the mercury rising only a couple of degrees above freezing and with a coat of snow adorning the ground, I went on a long bike ride. I did this for two reasons. First, there’s almost nothing like a bike ride … Read more
On Saturday afternoon, the temperature in the Twin Cities hit a hundred degrees, unheard of in Minnesota this early in the summer. Reasonable people turned on their air-conditioners and stayed inside. What was I doing? Helping to build a playground at a transitional housing facility for women and children in need of shelter. I’m 70 … Read more
“The dead are never far from us. They’re in our hearts and on our minds and in the end all that separates us from them is a single breath, one final puff of air.” With these words, I ended my novel Ordinary Grace. Every Memorial Day, I’m reminded how true these sentiments are when I take part in … Read more