The Anger Ball

Posted in Stories
Keeping your cool in an argument

It’s been eleven years now since I learned that lesson. I was living in Michigan, serving as a missionary. For those unfamiliar with Mormon-dom, let me tell you about those fellows who wear white shirts, ties, and black name tags. The pair of them must be within eye sight of one another 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The only break they get from one another is the occasional “trade-off” where they switch companions for a day.

And did I mention you don’t get to choose your companion?

And it can last anywhere from six weeks to six months (and sometimes more).

Guess what….. Read more »

When the passive bully grows up

Posted in Stories
When the passive bully grows up

I didn’t really “fit in” in elementary school. I was scrawny, awkward, and couldn’t afford nice enough clothes to avoid the taunting of my fellow pygmys. I had two outfits that “worked,” and I wore these on rotation, hoping nobody would notice that Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were “Rose Bowl Sweats” days, and Tuesdays and Thursdays were “long-sleeved, Pseudo-pajama Superman shirt” days. (When spring came around, I was reaaaaaaaly screwed.) Read more »