The difference between traveling and the journey

July 6, 2011.Reading time 4 minutes.

The beauty of travel exists not so much in the landscape as in the people who make their lives in that place. When we engage with those people, if only to ask one genuine question or listen to a synopsis of their story, we carry that place back with us, not just in photos or trinkets, […]

Good (and Cheap) Reads for Young Adults (and Adults)

June 5, 2011.Reading time 6 minutes.

“If it’s not good enough for adults, it’s not good enough for children. If a book that is going to be marketed for children does not interest me, a grownup, then I am dishonoring the children for whom the book is intended, and I am dishonoring books.” –Madeleine L’Engle Not only should children read, they […]

What He’ll Be When He Grows Up

May 24, 2011.Reading time 6 minutes.

At 7, my son is in earnest. Gripping the back of the seat as we drive to the grocery store, he asks, “What should I be when I grow up?” This is not a “why is the sky blue?” kind of question. The almost pleading tone in his voice begs me to answer; not a […]

Part 2: Near and beer to our hearts–Indy microbreweries

February 17, 2011.Reading time 2 minutes.

In case you missed Part 1, Near and beer to our hearts. The next stop on our short list of microbreweries took us to the nearby art district of Broad Ripple. With all our visits to this area, I’m not sure how we missed this place right on Broad Ripple Avenue with the giant 3. […]

Tesser Well

February 7, 2011.Reading time 5 minutes.

By Amanda Cleary Eastep “Tesser well.” The handwritten words quiver across the novel’s title page, and I imagine the woman, then in her 80s, whose trembling hand penned them. “For Amanda” is written above the strange instruction, and below it, the name of my favorite childhood author, Madeleine L’Engle. In 2004, I mailed my 1976 […]

To be (a teacher), or not to be

January 13, 2011.Reading time 4 minutes.

In a couple of weeks, I’ll be teaching a media writing course at the college where I work full time in public relations. I also serve as an adjunct faculty member. Ironically, I applied for a similar position in the English department about 10 years ago, and my interview with the very erudite professor fell […]

Dating Boaz

December 12, 2010.Reading time 5 minutes.

The first time my elder daughter tells me she’s going on a date, I will die. Maybe not all of me, but that part that believes she will always be content to sit at the computer chatting online with her friends or watching reruns of “The Nanny” with me at midnight. I’ve had it easy, […]