What is it that happy people do or know that allows them to enjoy a human existence? So far I have come up with three rules for happiness. I call them Steinman’s Rules for… Read More

         I wrote the following post a few months ago. I left it unpublished because I thought it was too angry….to cynical. I’m not an an… Read More

“Daddy! I’m Eleven-TEEN”, my youngest twin said with the incredulous and perfectly executed eye-roll of a seasoned adolescent. I can’t recall what we were arguing abo… Read More

      When I was a student at the School of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York I made frequent visits to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge… Read More

      In November of 2010 I began The Chalk with a post entitled "Welcome to my Free Fall".  I had just submitted a letter of resignation, effective June 2011… Read More

Hero turned villain Was winning worth the price? Will the ring become a burden? Man-child I think you are brave to play your game To play YOUR game Again, at what cost… Read More

      The other day I had an unpleasant close call on my motorcycle. I ride a very tame Honda Rebel. It’s the laughing stock of the Rider Coaches I teach with… Read More

          I see a lot of angry ranting people in my line of work. I try not to rant too much. It never really turns out well for me.  I stil… Read More

      There comes a time in every ball players life when we should gracefully leave the court and take up a game that does not involve grinding our knees into pulp… Read More

         In February of 2008, the New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants in the final moments of Super Bowl XLII. The loss solidified my pla… Read More

Recently I watched a YouTube snippet of Dr. Brene Brown speaking at a TED Conference[1]. She said a few things that resonated with me, besides how cool her name is. If you don’t know h… Read More

         You know the old joke; “why does a dog lick……………..?”       … Read More

When I first started blogging I used an analogy of a free fall to describe my journey into a new career or at least a new stage in my career. I’m still there. I’ve made some prog… Read More

      I’m writing this with the sincere hope that my mother never reads this. She doesn’t know it, but she is a Jewish mother. Maybe not the kind you see… Read More

Last week I was in Scottsdale, Arizona, visiting my Grandmother. I still had something of a fire in the belly about the nature of resiliency, so I asked her about times in her life when she… Read More

I am writing this to the child who is, at this very moment leaning over my shoulder watching me write. How do you explain to this little appendage that writing is not a spectator sport? It… Read More

resilient |riˈzilyənt|adjective: • able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed. • (of a person or animal) able to withstand or… Read More

About twenty years ago my boss Larry laid some humility on me. I wish the lesson had landed at the time, but I'm a slow learner and needed a few more lessons in humility before it made a den… Read More

I'm sitting in bed covered by five thick quilts painstakingly pieced by my wife. The weight of them is delightful and they do a pretty good job of keeping the frigid air that flows freely in… Read More

Einstein famously (and perhaps only allegedly) said, "..... if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid".So how do you know yo… Read More

I've tried to restart this blog so many times over the last year. I ran into a few problems. First and foremost among them was that my writing sucked. A close second was that I didn't have a… Read More

I think school administrators like a world that is black and white. They like problems to have expedient and inexpensive solutions.  So do all of us for that matter. Unfortunately most… Read More

I was initially disappointed in the results. I had no idea that following a few days of recovery I would discover that an authentic change had occurred. The “after burn” of calor… Read More

After completing the self-indulgent "One Week Challenge", I have decided to re-post this piece. I have added MEW's comment to the body of the text. It's the day before returning to school… Read More

First of all Thank You to Emma and the Kids for putting up with this. It's over.   Results: You tell me?BeforeAfterBeforeBeforeAfterAfterShown here before the ChallengeWhile my fac… Read More