The agony of defeat

-
Think of all the golden Olympic moments that will come in the next few weeks. Maybe a few of these moments as well:

Popular posts from this blog

Humor Me: How bumper stickers could decide the Presidential election

-
Image
At this point, I’m sure everyone has seen a poll that shows the presidential election will be tighter than spandex. Even a Facebook poll I saw predicts the race as a dead heat, while also reporting that nearly 100 percent of those surveyed are tired of people posting photos of what they’re having for lunch. Obama or Romney, Romney or Obama – it’s down to the wire. And it’s so close that the election could be decided by a single hot-button issue such as same-sex marriage, birth control or immigration regulation. It all depends on the swing voters, the political experts agree. But it might also depend on bumper stickers, according to one person who has zero expertise but was recently cut off by a car displaying an “I love my French Bulldog” sticker. It might seem weird, but at that moment, I didn’t care much for French Bulldogs. I might’ve even had some unpleasant thoughts about France. Now imagine if it was an Obama or Romney bumper sticker. Makes you think, doesn’t it...
Read more

My New Novel: 3 Seats from the Hero

-
Image
Theodore Meyer has been called Teddy, T-Dawg, the boy with Down syndrome, and the kid who is lucky to be alive. But what he really wants to be called is important. In my new novel 3 Seats from the Hero , two boys bond as first graders. Michael is the can’t-miss kid, the boy everyone talks about, the boy everyone wants to be around. Teddy is the baseball star’s little brother, the boy who dreams bigger than his challenges, the boy who longs to prove he is more than special. Teddy and Michael take different paths through childhood, but as they grow and change, their unique connection remains. They are at the center of their intertwined families, who watch the friends step forward, stumble backward, and then make a decision that changes their lives forever. 3 Seats from the Hero is a portrait of two boys and their families laughing, learning, sharing, and sacrificing. It’s a story of parents and children, brothers and sisters, the things that bring us together, and the...
Read more

Throwing away the kids' crafts can feel like trashing memories

-
Image
A version of this column first appeared in The Dallas Morning News and on DallasNews.com . ------------------ (Note: Some kids returned to school earlier this month, but in Texas, most of them return next week. That includes my youngest son, Nathan, who will be making his kindergarten debut.) The kindergartners starting school next week, with their anxious smiles and double-knotted shoelaces, will make any size backpack seem big. They’ll spill into classrooms looking like snails hunched under colorful shells. Cooper, then in first grade, educated us about penguins But the backpacks are a must, of course. They’ll be needed to carry home the precious mementos of a kindergartner’s life that parents will want to hold on to forever. Or, uh, throw away after a few days. I feel bad saying that as my 5-year-old starts kindergarten. But Nathan has already produced a plethora of preschool keepsakes. He also has two older brothers, so our family needs occasional memorabilia ...
Read more