I asked Veteran Marine combat engineer Joseph White Eagle, who enlisted in 1988 and served in Desert Storm and Desert Shield, to share stories about his military experience that would make us laugh, cry, and reflect. He generously did that…
I start the pork chops browning in a skillet. The weather has changed and with the onset of autumn and the stressful presidential campaign, I’m wanting comfort foods. As I turn the pork chops over so they brown on the…
I’m hiking into the woods near my home in the Dells at night, feeling eyes on me. My mission is to see if I can get the resident barred owl to call back to me, an annual event that, to…
I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. A famous columnist, blogger, speaker, podcaster, playwright, consultant, teacher, multiple Moth StorySLAM winner, and the internationally bestselling author of nine books, including Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life…
I’m retrieving balls at the Baraboo High School tennis courts before my partner and I begin a second set of doubles. Just outside the fence, three young girls sit cross-legged on the cement. Ah, the wonder of being that young…
My husband and I were in Cologne, Germany, last May, waiting in a long line to use the public restroom. The staff of our Rhine River Tour had warned us we’d need tokens (worth around $.50), so we’d gotten a…
A milestone birthday looms before me. While biking down a country road, Toby Keith’s classic, As Good As I Once Was, keeps echoing in my head. I ain’t as good as I once was; I got a few years on…
Reindeer herder in Norway
I’m relaxing in my doggie bed after supper when Mum comes in waving my favorite toy, a stuffed lamb, around. I ignore her, and she looks at me with a look of concern. “What’s wrong, Josie?” What’s wrong? Does she…
At Walmart, I see a girl, age 9 or 10, accompanied by her mother, filling a cart with school supplies. I’m immediately transported back to the fourth-grade classroom. “Mrs. Laundrie,” a nine-year-old boy says, rubbing his forehead, “I’ve been working…