Last week’s post celebrated the release of Ali Farrell’s Pretty Rugged, a book that shines light on women as “lobster fishermen” off the coast of Maine. https://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Rugged-True-Stories-Women/dp/1733078436/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=pretty+rugged&qid=1610229747&sr=8-1 Author Farrell’s own story illustrates the relationship between work and happiness, which regular readers will remember was touched on in this space last month. University of Pennsylvania’s Martin … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Fishing For Happiness
TURNING POINTS—Pretty Rugged
According to the CDC, commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous ways to make a living. But certain people are drawn in a big way to this physically, mentally, and emotionally demanding work, like the hardy folk who fish for lobster off the coast of Maine. To identify lobstering simply their “job” misses the … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Pretty Rugged
TURNING POINTS—The Year of Absence and Presence
This Year of COVID, we all have learned to tolerate fundamental change in how we experience holidays. No one is hoping to reprise these drastic accommodations next time around the calendar. Like many of you, Kathleen and I will celebrate Christmas inside our bubble, sad that we can’t laugh, remember, eat, and drink in the … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—The Year of Absence and Presence
TURNING POINTS—Merry, Happy, Good!
Holiday greetings (even through a mask) convey wishes for how the giver hopes the receiver will experience the upcoming fete. Such greetings ensure that children quickly learn that their birthdays and those of others should be Happy occasions. Likewise, the turn of the new year, and religious, national, and cultural holidays. Directing partakers of Christmas … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Merry, Happy, Good!
TURNING POINTS—Hope, Hope, Hope
It’s a word that comes up in conversations around the end of the year holidays. Hope. The word has gotten used a lot this whole COVID year, as in HOPE FOR A VACCINE! Hope came up quite a bit in OPEN ADMISSIONS: WHAT TEACHING AT COMMUNITY COLLEGE TAUGHT ME ABOUT LEARNING, and it keeps showing … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Hope, Hope, Hope
TURNING POINTS—Turning Wooden Spoons
Holidays can end all at once, like the final jingle bell note on the radio’s last Christmas song at 11:59 PM on December 25. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, lingers on in most households. In fact, some would argue that the post-Thanksgiving uses of cooked turkey equal or top the big day’s feast. Before the … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Turning Wooden Spoons
TURNING POINTS—Looking for Hope and Gratitude
The pair in the main photo had their eyes riveted on me as I walked away from the car that particular afternoon. For them, every return that Kathleen or I made to the car represented a miracle that warranted celebration. Living in hope. That’s dogs. Being anthropomorphic—after all, one of the great joys of including … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Looking for Hope and Gratitude
TURNING POINTS—Family and Rugby Culture Launch an International Life
The post a few weeks ago about “reciprocal determinism” prompted a reply from the son of very old friends. Ian Hincken (pictured with his Dad, Ed) shared how Albert Bandura’s psychological concept neatly explained how his family and rugby environment/situational factor in his childhood and adolescence impacted how he thought about the world and about … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Family and Rugby Culture Launch an International Life
TURNING POINTS—Even Big Mistakes Can Become Good Turning Points
In this time of national conflict and turmoil, it is worth reminding ourselves of the things that unite us. Some responses to big problems just make sense, regardless of one’s political perspective. Life is messy, and sometimes people make big mistakes—commit crimes and spend time in jail or prison. When that happens in a family, … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—Even Big Mistakes Can Become Good Turning Points
TURNING POINTS—The Long And Winding Road To Maine
When Kathleen and I and our two dogs moved to Maine nine years ago, squeezed into our two-door Civic along with boxes and bags of personal belongings, we came in one fell swoop, hot on the taillights of the moving van that contained the rest of our worldly possessions. One day. But getting the idea … Continue reading TURNING POINTS—The Long And Winding Road To Maine