I came around a corner on the trail and there was Carter in the distance. We waved, and he called out, “Max! Good to see you. It’s been a while—I was starting to think you might be hurt or dead.” We both laughed as I walked up and shook his hand. I didn’t know it then, but he had been lucky to survive the woods just a week earlier.
Continue reading “I Thought You Might be Dead”
Our local paper ran a story about Judge James P. Fisher freeing convicted sex offender Patrick Lundy after his most recent charges. In online comments, many people blamed liberal judges and their agendas. There is only one problem. Judge Fisher is a former Chair of the Fauquier County Republican Committee.
Continue reading “Broken Trust and Broken Laws”
As I post this, my 500th blog, I want to share something I have learned over the past ten years. Sometimes, living life exuberantly means slowing down, and taking life in. Exuberance can also be internal – a heightened state of awareness, a deeper appreciation of the present, or a “quiet” joy, more potent than a loud one.
Continue reading “500 and Change”
Over the years, Mom did many wonderful things for me, but one gesture stands out. Whenever Cath and I returned home to Ottawa from wherever we were living, we were welcomed home with unconditional love and my favorite meal ready for our first supper: potato salad and baked ham.
Continue reading “The Homecoming Meal”
As our country’s 250th anniversary approaches, my mind keeps going back to our 200th anniversary in 1976. What would the current Max say to the 21 year old West Point Cadet who was in DC for July 4th that year? As Bob Dylan sang, “I was so much older then. I’m younger than that now.”
Continue reading “250 Years”
Replacing the fountain pump was a half-hour job that I procrastinated on for over a year. There was no good reason; I just didn’t get around to it. But last week, a minor miracle on the porch finally brought the water back—and taught me a surprising lesson about peace.
Continue reading “Sounds of Silence”
The summer Solstice is today, June 21st. Actually, it was at 4:24AM this morning. Here in the DC area, this longest day of the year stretches almost fifteen hours between sunrise and sunset. While it marks the official start of summer, I always feel a touch of sadness as well. A wistful emotion that is silly, and yet…
Continue reading “Summer Solstice”
My wife Cathy is a certified badass. Seventy years old, she still does CrossFit regularly, while I only get my exercise from peaceful walks in the woods. I was thinking about this in the weeks leading up to our 48th anniversary on June 16th.
Continue reading “Cathy, The Badass”
Our friend Colleen decamped to Panama last week. Not for a vacation, but to live there. While Colleen has long planned a move to Central America after retirement, events here in America accelerated the timeline. Unfortunately, Donald strikes again. We will miss her and her spirit.
Continue reading “Colleen”
It was raining hard our last day in Singapore. We had planned to walk around their famous Botanic Gardens, but scrapped that idea with the rain, and came up with an alternative – visit Long Bar and have a Singapore Sling at the place where they invented the drink in 1915.
Continue reading “An Afternoon at Long Bar”
Live Life Exuberantly 