So I screwed up. Against my better judgment, I took my doctor’s advice and tried another med to combat the chronic nerve pain in my esophagus…
Learning Social Media in Your 40s
Ok, so I’m a bit of a Luddite. At the turn of the century, I was the last person I knew to get a cellphone. When I did finally get one, it was a flip phone, but people had already moved on to Blackberrys. After a couple of years listening to my friends rave about…
Tales from the Landlord: The Nephew
I run a small real estate development company, which means I can’t afford any full-time employees. I can sub out some of the building management to other companies, but not all of it, so I often find myself on the frontlines of tenant relations, dealing with some pretty bizarre activity. Today was no exception. At…
A Dead Man’s Checks
Every month I get paid by a dead man. This has been going on since October of 2014, when one of my former tenants passed away in his early 40s from cancer. He had set up his rent payments for automatic delivery and never got the chance to stop the recurrence before he died. I’ve…
Is Anyone Just About the Writing Anymore?
Growing up, my dad used to warn me that if I wanted to be a writer, I better be prepared to be broke. That the life of a writer requires a lifetime of eating Ramen noodles and smoking cigarettes, and if I had any other life plans that required money, I would need to put…
The Hardest Mountain
I used to think I was pretty tough because I had climbed some big mountains and gone on some pretty wild adventures. I took on Grand Teton in a rainstorm that never let up. I conquered Kilimanjaro with altitude sickness that had me retching and unable to stomach food for 3 days. Harder than that…
Families That Bike Together… Sweat Together?
There was one holiday commercial this winter everyone was talking about. Cheesy and painful to watch, it portrayed a young woman expressing overwhelming gratitude for receiving a gift that induces sweat, exhaustion, and face contortions like you’re passing a kidney stone. The object of her appreciation was her wonderful husband, whom she gazed at with…
New Year’s Eve: A Great Night For Sleep
Ah, the new year. A fresh start. A chance to right all of yesteryear’s wrongs. To go forth and bring about change. To conquer and progress as an individual. To make resolutions and hopefully, this time, stick to them. To be kinder. Wiser. A better listener and a better friend. But mostly, it’s an opportunity…
Why Climb Mountains?
Why do this to myself? Why, why, why?! Why suffer the weight on my back, still bent on standing on the highest point of the mountain, conquering it, though neither man nor beast would be present to bear witness to my accomplishment? I’ve heard many climbers answer this question with the classic response, “because it…
4000s By 40
A few years ago I embarked on a quest to complete all 48 of New Hampshire’s tallest mountains before turning the ripe old age of 40. If you’re from New Hampshire, you’ve heard of the 4000 footers. If you’re from New England, you’ve probably heard of the 4000 footers. And if you’re turning 40 and…