This weekend I had the chance to hear a sixteen-year-old harpist play a Mozart concerto on two harps—playing one with his left hand and the other with his right, the type of tour de force you know he learned how to do not because someday a handful of people sitting on some wooden benches would applaud…
Category: Making a Creative Life
On using a knife and fork
Jessica’s last day of school is really just a last morning of school, so when I pick her up, the whole day stretches ahead of us. “How about lunch in Lawrence?” I say. “Yes.” She is without hesitation. Jessica is a girl who likes lunch. “Where?” “Let’s go to Encore,” I say. “They have those…
On how some things never change
I am, as you know, an extremely prolific author, and that means I am constantly working. But it also means I am constantly getting stuck. Jessica can always tell because that’s when I start trying new recipes for dinner. It’s amazing the number of ideas a good tofu marinade can shake loose. ### Dojo Wisdom…
Ode to the coffee shop
One of the baristas at the coffee shop I frequent is an extremely taciturn and dignified young man, and when he asks if I want sprinkles, he uses a carefully modulated and uninflected tone so as not to make his pain too apparent. Sometimes he draws a little leaf on my mocha. The stories I…
Today’s meditation, illustrated
### My collection of travel stories, Travels with Jessica, is now available! Kindle and paperback here; other ebook formats here. And I’ve published my essay “For Jessica” as a small book. Kindle and paperback here; other ebook formats here. Don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter! I give random stuff away—and I tell…
On how I get so much done
This summer, Jessica decided that she did not want to go to day camp as she has in previous years and so we agreed to give her staying home a try. We had some intense negotiation first (Me: “You will have to be patient while I work.” Jess: “You can bring me to the coffee…