Tag: behavior

  • What’s Missing?

    I’ve never considered myself much of a chef. I don’t julienne. I don’t chiffonade. I don’t make foams, reductions, or anything that requires tweezers.  But a cook? Now that’s a title I’d proudly wear. When I’m cooking, I really only have one goal; Make enough food that everyone leaves the table full, preferably smiling, and…

  • The Magic in the Stands

    Every sport has something special to offer in person. If you’ve ever stood inside a packed soccer stadium, you’ve felt the thunder. Ninety minutes of chants, songs, flags, and enough energy to shake concrete. There may be no greater sporting spectacle on Earth than the World Cup. Football is organized chaos. Hockey is astonishingly fast.…

  • On the Honor System: How Are We All Still Alive?

    Civilization has a dirty little secret. It only works because, for the most part, we trust each other. Have you ever stopped and realized just how much of everyday life runs on the assumption that complete strangers are going to behave themselves? Not because they have to. Because they’re supposed to. That’s an important distinction.…

  • A Merely Audible Contemplation

    Lately, I’ve spent enough time alone to hear the refrigerator thinking. It’s a low hum at first, but if you sit quietly long enough, you start wondering if it’s judging your life choices. The funny thing is, I don’t remember solitude being part of the plan. Growing up in a small town, there was always…

  • Muscle Memory

    For the longest time, I’ve worn my hair in what could best be described as a modified buzz cut. All clippers, no scissors. A style that lives somewhere between “civilian trying to look presentable” and “Marine Corps recruiter might nod in approval.” Never quite a full high-and-tight, but close enough that nobody would accuse me…

  • Job Title: Yes (Other Duties as Assigned)

    There isn’t a single human being on this floating rock hurtling through space who has managed to live life playing only one role. Not one. If you know such a person, please let me know. I’d like to study them. Strictly for academic purposes, of course. Not because I suspect they’re an alien trying very…

  • Backyard Kings and Charcoal Crowns

    There was a time when a backyard grill wasn’t just a way to cook dinner—it was Dad’s kingdom. Actually, if we’re being honest, it still is. The throne may be a faded patio chair, the crown may be a cloud of charcoal smoke, and the royal scepter may be a pair of stainless-steel tongs, but…

  • No Wi-Fi, No Agenda, No Problem — Doing Nothing and Loving It

    There used to be a time when “doing nothing” was actually doing something. You’d see it everywhere. A man sitting on the front porch after work, coffee cup in hand, staring at absolutely nothing and somehow thinking about everything. A grandmother on a porch swing, watching the world pass by at a speed slow enough…

  • The Meta Standoff at Calexico High School

    It was high noon at Calexico High. Not the romantic kind of high noon with tumbleweeds rolling past the cafeteria and someone whistling a Morricone soundtrack.  No. This was the modern version. The sun hung over campus like it had a personal grudge. Heat shimmered above the blacktop. The halls were quiet. Somewhere in the…

  • A Pause, Not an Ending

    A Pause, Not an Ending

    People get tattoos for all sorts of reasons. Some honor someone they love, remember an important moment, celebrate a milestone, or carry a meaningful reminder with them wherever they go. Others simply appreciate the artistry and enjoy turning their skin into a canvas for self-expression. A tattoo can tell a story, capture a memory, reflect…

  • No Batteries Required: When Play Meant Something More

    Yesterday, I saw something I never thought I’d see again—especially not from a high school student. I saw a group of teenagers playing leapfrog. Leapfrog. Not a phone app. Not a video game. Not some new social media challenge designed to last three days before disappearing into the digital abyss. Actual leapfrog—the same game kids…

  • The Cookie with the Hole in the Middle

    The Duplo cookie—that round, flower-shaped, sugary piece of goodness with a hole in the middle and a soft ribbon of filling tucked inside. Anyone who is anyone knows this tasty treat. The Duplo cookie never asked for attention. It didn’t need frosting that shouted or colors that competed. It just sat there—round, slightly crisp at…

  • Self-Inflicted and Poorly Supervised

    I know I don’t need caffeine. That’s the first honest thing I write today, and I almost want to stop there because it already sounds like the kind of sentence people say right before they absolutely do the thing anyway. It’s not even about needing it. Not really. It’s more like… curiosity. Scientific curiosity, if…

  • The Fine Art of Holding a Grudge

    When we were kids, grudges lasted about six minutes.Someone stole your crayon, you cried, your mom intervened, and ten minutes later you were both eating the same bag of chips like nothing happened. Justice was swift.Closure was immediate.Snacks were shared. Then we grew up. And somewhere between paying bills and learning how to properly sigh,…

  • If Only For A Moment…

    On Sunday, Mother’s Day, during the second hour of a four-hour gig, something extraordinary happened. As I stood beneath a tree playing my trumpet, a hummingbird suddenly appeared. It circled around me three… maybe four times, hovering right in front of the bell of my trumpet while I played. Then it flew upward and landed…