Category: Commentary

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”— Vince Lombardi

Gray foxes are North America’s only canine species that regularly climb trees.

What is your favorite occupation?

My favorite occupation is creating — writing, reflecting, and shaping my inner world into something clear, honest, and expressive. I also love working with children, and the two go hand in hand for me. Being around kids keeps me curious, imaginative, and open, and my creativity helps me connect with them in meaningful, authentic ways. Together, they make me feel most like myself.

“Let us make our future now and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” –  Malala Yousafzai

 Because the pressure buildup can be so intense, holding in a sneeze can damage blood vessels, rupture an eardrum, or even cause a person to have an aneurysm.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

The lowest depth of misery is feeling invisible while still being expected to show up — when you’re giving everything you have, but your needs, your voice, and your humanity go unnoticed. It’s the quiet kind of suffering where you disappear in plain sight.

Note: (Trying something new with the size of the images. Let me know which looks better. The ones here are the bigger images.)

“Leaders set high standards. Refuse to tolerate mediocrity or poor performance.” – Brian Tracy

When it comes to saying British surnames, just sounding it out doesn’t always work. Cholondeley, for example, is pronounced “ CHUM-lee.” Wriothesley is sometimes “RIZZ-lee” and Marjoribanks is simply “MARCH-banks.” Certain Featherstonhaughs say their names “FAN-shaw.”

Where would you most like to live?

I’d most like to live somewhere that feels calm, warm, and creatively inspiring—close enough to nature to breathe, but close enough to community to feel connected. A place with sunlight, trees, and quiet mornings, where I can write, think, and build a life that feels intentional.

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” —E.E. Cummings

Free condoms were originally given to Olympic athletes at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, to prevent the spread of HIV. It’s now part of the Olympic tradition, with the condom count sometimes reaching upwards of 300,000.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I’d change the instinct to shrink or adjust myself to make others comfortable. It’s an old habit, and I’m slowly unlearning it, but it still shows up more than I’d like.

“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”― Marilyn Monroe

The residents of Oymyakon in Russia have the distinction of living in the coldest permanently inhabited place on earth, where the average winter temperature plummets to negative fifty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. That’s shy of its official winter temperature record of negative ninety degrees, observed on February 6, 1933, at the towns weather station.

On what occasion do you lie

If I lie, it’s usually a soft lie — the kind meant to shield someone from discomfort. I’m learning to trust that honesty, spoken with care, is kinder in the long run.

Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”- Brian Tracy

The phrase shrimp on the barbie comes from an Australian tourism ad starring Paul Hogan, the future Crocodile Dundee- and what he actually said was “I’ll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for ya,” not “I’ll throw another shrimp on the barbie.”

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

The trait I most deplore in myself is the quiet belief that I must bend to be accepted. It’s the old echo that whispers I’m only worthy if I perform. I’m learning to silence it, to stand in who I am without apology.