Paul Williams (b.1940) is an American singer and songwriter. This Academy Award-winning composer has battled through alcohol addiction and gained a marvelous insight from an old-timer he met in recovery over twenty-five years ago. This man asked Williams, “How are you treating the world today, Paulie?” Williams replied, “Don’t you mean, ‘How’s the world treating me?'” The gentleman quickly…
A mother picked up her son from the city swimming pool one afternoon. When she saw that he didn’t have his towel she asked him where it was. He said, “Somebody stole it!” The mother marched right into the office and asked to speak to the pool manager. “What kind of an operation are you…
Just minutes after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon a remarkable event took place. Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon and took communion. He had arranged with his pastor to consecrate the elements of bread and wine and took them with him in the space capsule. He said that he…
Sixteen-year-old wrestler Marek Bush shot to inter-net fame when a video from a high-school wrestling tournament in New York featuring one of his matches was posted online. The young Mr. Bush gained international attention after forfeiting a wrestling match to an injured opponent. With the match almost over, Bush found himself losing 5-0 to competitor…
Several years ago, I read the book, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People by Dave Burchett. I don’t remember many details from the book, except that the author had a child in a vegetative state and he was quite distressed by the treatment of his family by people who called themselves Christians. He was…
When I was teaching elementary school art, I heard one of our high school math teachers talk about teaching the concept of square root to her students in a silent lesson. I was fascinated by the idea. I myself am a visual learner and sometimes words get in the way of what I am trying…
We all try to prevent failure, whether in our personal lives, at school or in business. To fail carries with it a sense of shame and disappointment. The fear of failure keeps many people from taking risks. We think, “But what if I try and fail? I’d rather not try.” But, what if the Wright…
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal they lay down for the night, and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend. “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson replied, “I see millions and millions of stars.”…
“Nancy Duarte starts her book Resonate by describing a simple phenomenon in physics called “resonance.” Resonance occurs when the frequency of an object’s natural vibration responds to an external stimulus of the same frequency. Duarte then describes her son’s salt experiment. He put grains of salt on a plate and created complex patterns when amplified…
While my husband and I lived in the Boston area, I was privileged to help write and provide teacher workshops on a water conservation curriculum for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority called Water Wisdom. Part of the purpose of the curriculum is to provide activities that can help teachers and students learn how to use…