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New life-experiences are filled with uncertainty. They can be downright terrifying or they can bring joy and a sense of satisfaction. It all depends on our perspective and our attitude. Take Tux, for instance. He’s the Samoyed launching himself into a wave. Now, he is a sled dog who is genetically predisposed to loving winter. He’s got a thick double-coat of fur which is made to protect him

The other day on my drive to work,  I heard a deejay report on his segment, Four Random Facts, a morsel of useless information about something called a Quarter-life Crisis. I don’t even remember what the tidbit was because I was so damn annoyed. I’m sure we all have seen, or even know someone who is having a Mid-life crisis. I don’t need to explain the details. That phrase and its connotat

Have you ever met someone and thought, “Well she’s certainly full of herself”? It’s called arrogance. Conversely, have you ever met someone who speaks softly and won’t look you in the eye when they speak? Well, that’s someone who lacks self-confidence. It’s not pleasant to be around either one of those individuals. Thankfully, the majority of the people I know who are reading

Having been a dog trainer since 2006, I could proclaim to be a Master of my trade due to my years of experience. However, over the past 6 weeks, I’ve had defining moments that challenged every ounce of my knowledge, experience, and emotions. They reinforced my belief that I am no Master. While sitting on a cold tile floor of a veterinarian’s Quiet Room, I gently stroked the head of a dog, Luigi, that

It was 10:45 pm on a Saturday night when my cell phone rang. I told Cathy, “It’s Pam. She’s probably butt-dialing. If it’s important she’ll leave a message.” 1 missed call. 1 new voicemail: Pam sounded distraught. “Peter. My Destiny is gone. I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know where to look. Please call me when you get this.” After I brushed my teeth

Having been unemployed for 10 months, I learned some simple lessons that I think are worthy of sharing. Here they are: 1. A skilled and experienced instructor does not equate to being a good teacher. 2. Sometimes, a struggling student has an inexperienced, unskilled, or ineffective teacher, or a combination of those qualities. 3. A good teacher is always a good student too. 4. Sometimes, we are better off redire

I didn’t shake hands, hug, or talk to all of my classmates at our 30th high school reunion last night. I will admit there were a few people in attendance whom I did not recognize. I had to covertly ask someone I did know, “Do you know who that is?” I will also freely admit that I stayed pretty close to my comfort zone of well-established friendships. And many of the others gravitated toward their fa

I enrolled in a 10-week long class to learn how to weld. Why not? I’m still unemployed and the state of Connecticut will pay for the training, so what have I got to lose. Electric Boat/General Dynamics is hiring literally hundreds of welders. They offer great pay, full benefits, and year-round employment. That’s a trifecta that I haven’t had in nearly 20 years. I was told that I would almo

  I first met Jennifer Roberts in 1983 while waiting at a school bus stop when we were both freshmen in high school. At that time, kids who lived in about a 1-mile radius were allowed to “pick up the bus” at a central location. Our stop was at the Southwood Acres shopping plaza. Every morning, a congregation of 20-30 kids would gather at the “town hall” (actually a DairyMar

There can be no debate that we are living in a troubling time. Bernie got screwed, Hillary lost, Trump won, it’s the Russians’ fault, womens’ march, Muslim ban, violent protests, Obamacare repeal, the wall, fake media, etc. This list could go on and it seems endless. Newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV bombard us with their jaded opinions, agendas, and misinformation. It is hard to decipher fact fr