Articles
From One Place To A Better One
In “Ted Lasso,” my favorite show of all time, Ted (the main character) tells a story about his dog Hank. It goes like this:
From The Ground Up
It was late spring in 1979 and my dad was looking for a new project. Well, that’s a bit superfluous. He was looking for more room for our growing family in our split-level ranch in rural Wisconsin.
Will-O-The-Wisp
The team here at PRB knows my favorite group of words is, “I have an idea.”
The Heart of Town
The sun beat down on us as we left Cedar Point—the famous amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. My daughter and son had joined me for a day of scaring ourselves on world-class roller coasters.
Fun For All
Each afternoon, around 2 p.m., a man walks by the front of my office. He wears a backpack, broad-brimmed hat, and a smile. Each day I wave to him, and each day he waves back.
Water Park Fun
I walked out the hotel door and into the attached water park. We were in Phoenix for a volleyball tournament in June. Temperatures were averaging over 100 degrees and coming from the central mountains of Idaho (where we had yet to break 75 degrees), the sun felt like a furnace on full blast.
It’s Summer, Baby!
It was a long, long winter here in Idaho which meant the spring mud season was longer, too. More snow. More run-off. More ice on the lake.
Foggy Mornings
Steam rose slowly from the lake as I ambled to the office. As I passed our lakefront park, I watched the parks grounds crew mowing the wet grass, edging the sidewalks, and blowing the debris into piles to be loaded to the back of their truck.
You Are What You Measure
We pulled into Revelstoke, British Columbia, ready to begin our Christmas ski vacation. The entire drive from central Idaho had featured rain, rain, and more rain
“You Can Do This!”
I checked my watch. It was 3 a.m. I was still tossing and turning. At wit’s end, I eased out of bed, trying not to wake my wife, walked into the bathroom, and started doing pushups.
Facilities That Move You
Both my 15-year-old daughters passed driver’s ed. All that stood in the way of an actual, honest-to-goodness driver’s license was 50 hours of daytime and 10 hours of nighttime driving—all conveniently tracked in an app—which meant no cheating or rounding up. Dang.
Gobble, Gobble
I packed the car—stuffing bags and gear into the rooftop box trying to make room for six people to sit comfortably for a long drive in our Toyota Highlander. We were headed west to San Raphael for our annual Thanksgiving holiday with family.
Fall Fun
The text pinged on my phone. I looked down to see a picture of my youngest twin daughter accepting a homecoming proposal from some young man who looked slightly embarrassed to be holding his sign in the middle of the high school hallway. I texted back: “What the heck’s going on there? I leave town for five minutes and boys show up?”
“You Can Do This!”
I checked my watch. It was 3 am. I was still tossing and turning. At wits end, I eased out of bed, trying not to wake my wife, walked into the bathroom, and started doing pushups.
Summer Fun
My dog, Snickerdoodle, hung his head out the window occasionally getting spooked by brush and branches scraping the side of the truck as the logging “roads” we travelled wound and narrowed and climbed. Eventually, we rounded one last bend and saw the trucks and excavators parked near an open meadow.
Feeling The Love
My wife grabbed the dog leash and headed out the front door. I followed, still stuffing my hands into gloves and zipping my coat up to my chin.
Shoulder Season
The twins snuck into my bedroom and shook my shoulder. I woke with a start and asked them what was wrong.
One Call Away
I piled the 8-year-olds into our trusty Honda Pilot for the 7:30 a.m. run to their Saturday futsal (soccer) game and backed out of the drive. I took a sip of coffeeСhoping it would magically turn the cold and gray January weather to 70 and sunny.
The Power of Public Spaces
I stood and watched as my oldest daughter and her 18U teammates competed against the best soccer players and teams from around the country in U.S. Youth Soccer's National League.