The Columbine massacre took place ten years ago this week. In the wake of that tragedy, many in my field went to work trying to determine the root causes. Gun control was an issue. Where were the parents? What preventive role should the school have played? When the dust settled, though, most of us concluded [...]
Honestly, man, what is with some people? I am really beginning to wonder. Case in point: A friend of mine was in town visiting from Philly a couple of weeks ago. More accurately, Rich is more like the friend of the family of a friend, or vice versa, or something like that. It's complicated, but [...]
With friends, family, colleagues and clients, I have conducted recently a decidedly unscientific study on the makings of an extraordinary life. I have a number of clients who have enthusiastically offered me their take on what makes up the extraordinary life. As you might guess, a number of teenagers and young adults include the idea [...]
My best friend's name is Mike. Since we were kids, I have called him Goon. No good reason for the nickname, really. It was just one of those things where someone, my younger brother in this case, deemed it so, and so it was. Mike was, now and forever, Goon. I recall clearly a day [...]
I have always envied those who find their Church and Community of Faith to be a warm, welcoming, homey hearth of goodwill, a place where a loving Jesus-God mural looks down lovingly upon his flock, searching for reasons to forgive even the most egregious of sins. I know this actually happens, for I have close [...]
We are on vacation in Florida with another family. Three young teenagers are on board, my 13-year-old included. A number of times over the past week, I have peered over to see each of their beautiful faces lost in a 3” inch screen: a Nintendo DS, iPhone, iPod Touch, or any other thing i! One [...]
For me, writing is a curious, sinewy, writhing joy of a process. As I continue to write, one issue I will almost certainly need to contend with involves, literally and ironically both, my availability to write what and when I need to write. It is not, for example, that the source material is there, logged [...]
I made a big mistake the other night. My son wanted to stay up and watch a certain movie he had recently heard about. It was already getting late, I was tired, but I relented. So we were off to the local Blockbuster to rent The Sixth Sense. I should have known the inevitable would [...]
I was asked yesterday to write a bit about self-esteem and confidence, how to foster these in teens. I found myself, time and again, returning to the word "competence". I realized that I use this word all the time. My online reference tool informs me that competence refers, quite simply, to the ability to do [...]
I should start be stating that I know very little about the martial arts. From what I hear, it goes something like this: You bow in. You do all you can to avoid violence. Failing that, you unleash your ungodly wrath upon your enemy/attacker including, but not limited to, hand strikes, crescent kicks, elbow breaks, [...]