Jun 5, 2021Member-onlyDon’t quit, in media or in lifeEarly in my career, just as I was leaving college, a radio program director told me to quit radio, and never look back. “Your voice,” she said, looking to the side. “It’s just not…you should do something else. Radio’s not for you.”Journalism3 min readJournalism3 min read
May 5, 2021Member-onlyA reminder of Icarus and of self-worthFor nearly 14 years I’ve carried with me an aging reminder that there is value in striving for growth; growth in relationships, the workplace, my faith…and growth in myself. Before your imagination runs wild I’ll tell you the item is just a bag, and not a particularly impressive one by…Self5 min readSelf5 min read
Published in A Parent Is Born·Dec 26, 2020Member-onlyDaddy’s Not InvincibleWhen I lost the ability to use my arms after a vehicle accident, my whole identity as a father — and a man — was lost also. — Her screams cut me deeper than she meant them to, but the facts were clear: I was deficient, and this helplessness was a new layer to my trauma. To her I’m a constant; one of two people she knows to rescue her from the hunger she can’t yet understand, and…Parenting4 min readParenting4 min read
Apr 11, 2020Member-onlyA scooter crash and a long road to ‘OK’There is a split-second for your body to prepare for the trauma before the car slams into your left side, and a leisurely ride into work on a sunny day becomes an exhausting and painful day at the hospital. Your fight-or-flight instinct is sparked by the adrenaline pumping through your…Cars5 min readCars5 min read
Published in Dialogue & Discourse·Sep 21, 2019Member-onlyJournalists should stop subsidizing the pundit classIt seems to be its own past-time to ask John Kasich whether he’s going to run again for president, perhaps even challenging the incumbent Donald Trump. CNN is especially interested in Kasich’s plans, and the network invited the two-term Ohio Governor to let viewers see into a crystal ball, and…Journalism5 min readJournalism5 min read
May 27, 2019Member-onlyA broken graveyard and religion in FranceThe iron-framed grave markers of Eglise St. Martin look sadly and unnecessarily neglected around the church’s perimeter. Some crucifixes are broken; the stone legs of a depiction of Jesus Christ sit disconcertingly on a pile of stone blocks. Some stone markers have crumbled or faded. …Religion4 min readReligion4 min read
Published in A Parent Is Born·May 9, 2019Member-onlyWhy I Hesitated Becoming a Minivan Dad (it’s not why you think)Even mentioning my plans to look at minivans earned the kind of under-the-breath-but-actually-directly-at-you reactions you might expect. “Well, well, well, a minivan, huh?! Going to be a van dad, huh?! Deciding to give up being cool, huh?!” Even as jokes, the point seemed to be that entertaining the minivan —…Cars6 min readCars6 min read
Published in Dialogue & Discourse·Feb 23, 2019Member-onlyThe Scourge of ‘Anonymous Sources’What used to be an exception in journalism seems to have become a norm: affording anonymity to sources offering some unattainable insight, intentionally-hidden fact, or, it seems, juicy gossip. If-and-when to grant anonymity is one of the more controversial discussions in the journalism realm, and it should be. A written…Journalism4 min readJournalism4 min read
Sep 20, 2018A brief farewell to a beautiful personKevin McGinty was one of those people whose generosity of spirit cut through the callousness of a world drenched in cynicism. He could be cynical, like all of us, but I only heard it in the form of his jokes, or anecdotes, or a few words of encouragement. As I…Ireland2 min readIreland2 min read
Published in The Writing Cooperative·Sep 6, 2018Member-onlyIn grief, the shortest writing can be the hardestIn the pangs of grief the simplest tasks can seem the most insurmountable. Buttoning a shirt. Pouring a glass of water. Writing a paragraph. Inexplicably we can burst into tears because our subconscious remembered that we were grieving, before our conscious selves permitted the rawness to claw back to the…Death5 min readDeath5 min read