1/2/07 - HOW RON PAUL CURED MY APATHY: 5 pages
Having sworn off politicians altogether, it was quite a surprise when I found myself drawn to Ron Paul, Republican candidate for president. But his unconventional ideas, when grasped in their entirety (as opposed to 30-second sound bites) have the intriguing allure of being "just crazy enough to work."

9/14/07 - THE DAY JESSE WAS BORN: 11 pages
Such a different experience from the birth of my first child in every way. I struggle with everything from indifference toward his birth to sadness over what it will mean to the relationship with my daughter, to fear that I will never feel that same kind of overwhelming love for my new son.

7/21/07 - AN INCONVENIENT FOLLOWING: 4 pages
A followup to my previous global warming essay. I confront "Al Gore Groupies" and the dangerous direction I see them taking this country in the name of Global Warming.

3/14/07 - IS THE TRUTH REALLY THAT INCONVENIENT?: 6 pages
Global warming is the buzz word of the day. Is it real? Is it all hype? Or is it a genuine problem that is being approached in entirely the wrong way by entirely the wrong people?

10/23/06 - CAMPFIRES, WENCHES AND INTERSTATE TOURISTS: 25 pages
A weekend in Lancaster County. Camping, hiking and a Renaissance Faire provide the backdrop for some humor, some history and some commentary on the state of Roadside America and the slow death being perpetrated on it by destination-happy interstate tourists.

6/20/06 - THE DIXIE CHICKS AGAIN: 5 pages
The red staters (who I still consider myself a part of) still aren't ready to forgive the Dixie Chicks and it's starting to get ridiculous. While I truly understand where the anger originated, it's time to just start letting it go.

2/1/06 - THE GAMES WE PLAY: 9 pages
While researching an article, I inadvertantly get hooked on boardgames, though with the current state of the nation's youth, it's not easy to track one down at first. Reviews, memories and thoughts on this new "mini-phase" of life.

6/17/05 - THE WONDERLAND OF ROCKS: 16 pages
After reading a lot of Edward Abbey, I recount my experience hiking through the rugged wilderness of the Southern California desert where I faced death in the form of rattlesnakes, dehydration, loss of direction and my own reckless decisions.

6/4/05 - RETURN TO SAINT LOUIS: 4 pages
I spend a week in one of the most disgusting cities in the country, finding some solace in the its few redeeming places.

2/21/05 - THE RIDICULOUSNESS OF AIRPORT "SECURITY": 3 pages
I'm not against it in and of itself, but airport security is so inconsistent and without logic that it truly only gives the illusion of security and exists only to "make white people feel safe."

2/1/05 - THE NIGHT I CRASHED THE FRAT PARTIES: 6 pages
On a boring Friday night, I decide to wander down to the UPenn campus and get some free drink from the frats. While there, I get a glimpse back at myself (good and bad) during those college years of not-so-long ago.

2/1/05 - MY NIGHT ON BOURBON STREET: 5 pages
While down in The Big Easy for work, I head on over to Bourbon Street, listen to the bands, settle an old score at a karaoke bar and watch the negotiation process between guys with beads and girls with breasts.

9/5/04 - LAKE PIRU: 8 pages
On my most recent trip back to L.A. I had the chance to visit one of my most favorite places in the world, Lake Piru. It brought back all sorts of memories of my days in L.A. and all the hiking I'd done.

6/29/04 - THE VACCINE DEBATE: 9 pages
For most people, the decision about whether or not to vaccinate their children is a no-brainer. But I've been doing a lot of research lately that has led me to reconsider just how obvious a choice this really is.

6/4/04 - THE DAY ALLISON WAS BORN: 14 pages
Our daughter was born healthily, happily and naturally in our own home. But man was it a long day.

5/1/04 - VIGILANTE JUSTICE: 1 page
Somebody finally pushes me too far and I dispatch my own version of vigilante justice involving a dumpster, a van and a bunch of cardboard boxes.

2/25/04 - L.A. EPIPHANIES: 6 pages
A week spent in Los Angeles makes me remember the many life-changing epiphanies I had during my two years living there. I finally realize where these epiphanies were leading me and why they stopped after leaving LA.

2/18/04 - LOGIC, ARITHMETIC, SCIENCE AND FAITH: 10 pages
After further reading of "How the Mind Works" I ponder on how we think in numbers and the differences between scientific and faith-based thinking.

9/28/03 - SOME THOUGHTS ON EVOLUTION - PROVIDED IT'S REAL: 6 pages
Thoughts and musings on how evolution works (if it's real at all), based on reading a book entitled, "How the Mind Works" by MIT professor, Steven Pinker.

9/14/03 - PAUL HILL: 5 pages
I discuss the man who was recently executed for killing an abortion doctor. I consider whether he was just another terrorist fueled by religious hatred, or if in some way, he was completely justified in what he did. In my mind, it's not a simple open-and-shut case.

9/3/03 - MY CALIFORNIA TRIP - PART 2: 8 pages
I make several journies into the desert, battle dehydration, stand naked in the wilderness and revisit old haunts.

6/30/03 - MY CALIFORNIA TRIP - PART 1: 3 pages
Thoughts on Los Angeles, the people, my friends and the desert during my first visit to California since leaving in 2000.

6/30/03 - WEEKEND IN BOSTON: 2 pages
Reminiscences and nostalgia about the city I used to call home.

5/9/03 - MY KENTUCKY TRIP - PART 2: 8 pages
In true "It's a Wonderful Life" fashion I had the unique opportunity to look at a past that could have been mine when I took a car trip from Kentucky to Illinois one evening. Lot's of other miscellaneous thoughts occured on the journey.

4/29/03 - MY KENTUCKY TRIP - PART 1: 4 pages
Thoughts on the south, country music, convertibles and the prospect of being able to look back and see how different your life would be had you made a different decision.

4/24/03 - THE DIXIE CHICKS: 2 pages
My outrage at the way they have been treated because of Natalie Maines' comment about the President of the United States.

4/17/03 - THE IRAQ WAR: 6 pages
The reasons for going, the reactions, the protests, the celebrity speak-outs, wondering if freedom is a good thing for the Iraqi people.

3/20/03 - BIRTHDAY SKI WEEKEND: 6 pages
A weekend with friends and family, playing Trivia, teaching my wife to ski and wondering if adulthood is going to change everything.

3/12/03 - "SIMPLE MAN": 1 page
Lynyrd Skynyrd's classic ballad and what it means to me.

10/9/00 - PEACEFUL EASY FEELING: 1 page
An e-mail to my friend Laura about loving life.

9/10/00 - UNSETTLING DREAM: 3 pages
Exactly what it says. This dream was so vivid I actually had to call and make sure that the guy in my dream was okay in real life.

8/15/00 - RELATIONSHIPS: 1 page
Why the "honeymoon" phase ends in most people and why people get lazy in marriage.

6/27/00 - ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TORMENT: 3 pages
A regret-filled look back on the kids we called friends and the kids we picked on so bad that it drove them to tears.

5/30/00 - ROUGHING IT: 3 pages
The weekend I got so dehydrated while hiking that I had to spend the night in a thicket.

5/25/00 - TEXAS BBQ: 1/2 page
The ultimate determining factor in who would be the perfect woman for me.

5/17/00 - GRADUATION DAY: 3 pages
A look back (one year later) at the event-filled day I graduated from college and left my friends and the place I'd called home behind.

5/5/00 - ROAD TRIP - DAY 4: 4 pages
The last day. The day I arrived in Boston from L.A. to kick off senior week and graduation.

5/4/00 - ROAD TRIP - DAY 3: 2 pages
Having survived the tornado, I finally cross the Mississippi, but still have a whole other day to drive.

5/3/00 - ROAD TRIP - DAY 2: 5 pages
My first major roadtrip. L.A. to Boston in 4 days. After a good day of driving, I nearly die in a tornado in Oklahoma.

4/20/00 - MAINE PARTIES: 4 pages
Parties back home were just so much better than any swanky party I'd gone to in L.A. "Party till the sun comes up" carries a whole new meaning in the sticks.

2/24/00 - HIGH SCHOOL GROUPINGS: 5 pages
The way cliques worked in my rural Maine high school. Rather than a social pyramid, we were more of a "web" and kids from all groups tended to hang out together. Not to say there weren't people "higher" in the web than others.

11/29/99 - NATURAL HIGHS: 1/2 page
I think I orginally used this as part of my on-line personal ad. Just a random list of things that make me feel wonderful.