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Hello Sailor
Most boat captains are responsible and want to take good care of their very expensive investments. They take the time to learn the rules of the waterways. They don’t hinder commercial vessels’ ability to maneuver by drifting slowly into their path. They don’t tie up the radio waves with useless banter. They take safety very…
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I am NOT Made of Glass
I have a new coworker who annoys the crap out of me. Oh, he means well, and I’m sure in any other context I’d think he was just fine. But within five minutes of meeting me, he called me a girl. Great. I’m 49 and have almost 13 more years of experience on this job…
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A Moral Thought Experiment
The other night around 11 pm I was driving to work. I was on a dark, deserted commercial street, and I had stupidly left my cell phone on my night stand at home. I was preoccupied with my current predicament, which is how on earth I’m going to make next month’s rent. (I still haven’t…
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Hell Yes, I Profile!
The other night at around 3 am I was sitting alone here at work in my tiny little building minding my own business while most of the city slept. I keep the shades drawn because I don’t want people to know I’m a female alone. I also keep the door locked. But that didn’t stop…
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Watch Out for Motorcycles for Unexpected Reasons
I often see bumper stickers that caution you to watch out for motorcyclists, and of course this is sound advice. They can be easy to overlook, and if your 4000 pound car meets a 300 pound motorcycle, the odds are not in the other guy’s favor. But there is another reason to beware of these…
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The Shortest News Cycle in the History of the World
On April 24th of this year a factory collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing more than 1,000 people who were just desperately trying to make a living of about $1.50 a day. They worked obscenely long hours for this money in an overcrowded building with no air conditioning, outdated and dangerous equipment and unhealthy drinking water.…
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Rules? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Rules!
As I lie here in a feverish fog brought on by a cold that surely came from the very bowels of hell, I have been thinking about chaos, or more specifically, what keeps our world from falling into chaos. Rules. Not laws, mind you. Those we cannot really control, and must abide by. No, I’m…
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Fred Rogers Was My Father
On the last day of 2012, I have a confession to make. I watched Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood to an embarrassingly old age. It was my dirty little secret. I told no one. It was something for just the two of us. Every day I’d tune in to the only father figure I had. He would…