Where you’ve been and what you’ve done shape you. — May 17th is called Syttende Mai or Constitution Day in Norway. It’s their equivalent to our 4th of July. I have no Norwegian blood in my veins but I like to think I have a little bit of Norway in my heart. …

How you communicate impacts how people perceive you. — Have you ever heard the term “resting bitch face?” It’s an unpleasant term and I don’t care for it. It refers to an element of communication called body language. Body language includes facial expressions but also your general posture, use of hands, positioning of legs and feet, and other gestures. …

Excerpted from Nine for the Diamond: A full baseball game’s worth of short stories! — Filburn rolled the ball in his fingers behind his back, until they found the seams. Watching the runner on first out of the corner of his eye, he waited for the sign from Smitty. He was remembering the scouting report on Hennessey, the batter and opposing pitcher. Hen was smart…

What is a team? — There are many definitions of course and I’ll get to that in a minute. Something I’ve contemplated way too much is a question about swimming, track, golf, cross-country, and wrestling. Are they team sports? Individuals win and lose as does the team. Somehow, I’ve always stumbled over calling them team…

C.A.R.E. — Moving up to a management position is far more difficult than it appears. Many employees are eager for promotion, focusing on the pay raise. What’s so often lost in translation is the need for a completely different skill set. Just because someone is superb at their job doesn’t make them…

“Getting old is a gift.” — That’s what DeVito’s character in Jumanji: The Next Level said at the end of the movie. It was Saturday and we were at my Mom’s house for Easter. She’s 86 and doing great but thoughts of mortality are ever present. Even though I’m 53, I think about getting older. I’ve…

Something’s gotta change! — It was August but Coach Jim Grabski was thinking about a game in October. He was thinking about their crosstown rival, Overtown Harbor High School. It seemed like OHHS just owned the Falcons. This was his tenth year as head coach and he’d been an assistant coach for seven years…

Excerpted from the book, Taliban Strike, available on Amazon — February 2011 In North Waziristan, the Taliban high council was meeting. “The Americans continue to improve their positions. Yesterday, another village rose up against us, driving out our men who had gone to burn a school for girls. Little by little, they make gains and solidify. Last week, the Afghan…

Asking why doesn’t always help. — My son loves The Ohio State University Buckeyes football team. He can name nearly every Buckeye player in the NFL as well as most of the starters on the current team. It’s where he wants to play football someday. Today’s news of the death of Dwayne Haskins, a former Ohio…