Contrary to popular opinion, there are moments when you can restart your life. Not your physical being, but the things that surround that which we call life. I had a pretty significant relaunch when Princess Diana died, because it coincided with a pretty horrific accident that required four surgeries to fix. Now as Diana's legacy continues in the life of little prince George, I reflect back on the days after the death of Princess Di.

The Royal

It was like Fight Club. Participants are not supposed to talk about it. So I call it kidnapped missionary survival training. It was a weeklong test of our survival skills, and I was 13 and trying to figure out my place in the world. I faced some serious monsters on this particular camping trip, the biggest one being myself.

Kidnapped Missionary Survival Training

I once saw a witch doctor for some help with some back pain. It wasn't as bad an experience as people might make it out to be. Proof once again that not all juju beads and shrunken heads are indications of dark magic. Sometimes a person just really knows which herbs will make you feel better. 

The Witch Doctor

Mexicali has long been the place for North American youth groups to focus their attention when it comes to doing "foreign" mission trips. It's conveniently close, for one thing, and it's a hub for the desperate and destitute looking for a better life just across the chain-link fence in Calexico. Mexicali has changed a lot in recent years. It's a big, bustling border town now. But 20 years ago, it was a different place entirely, and it had a big impact on me. (Image by Tommy Huynh - Flickr)

Mexicali

I was a fat kid. Or maybe chubby kid is more polite. The world of dating terrified me, and for good reason. I was lucky enough to find my one and only early on. The few adventures in dating that I did have were not my finest moments. This is one of them. Music: "Cupid's Revenge" by Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com.

"I wondered what it would be like to date a fat guy"

High Cost Of Bachelor Parties

When you suffer from panic attacks, smoking weed is never a good idea. This is the story of a fishing trip gone terribly wrong. A 45-minute ambulance ride from a remote lake in the Cascade Mountains and a chance to talk about something most Americans are reticent to ever discuss - our mental health. So here it is, another look into the darker parts of my existence.

The Last Bad Trip

This is the final episode of the second season of the "Truth as I see it" podcast. And what's more final than death, right? In this episode, I explore death through a conversation with my then 3-year-old son Cole. That conversation still has ramifications today. Proving that there is no such thing as a small conversation. This is not an attempt to answer what happens after we die. It's an attempt to ask why that matters.

How Death Is Done

Allegiances in sports are often built around community. They are mostly based on who you are and where you were raised. Since we are a nomadic family, I've often wondered what these sporting allegiances would turn out like in my children as we move from place to place. This is where I explore that concept.

Navigating Sporting Allegiances In A Nomadic Family

Walter White showed us the capacity for the human soul. It stretches from inherently evil to immortal. An essay on anti-heroes as soul mirrors.

Redemption And The Anti - Hero - Breaking Down Breaking Bad

I've always wondered who wrote the rules for zombie behavior. Where did they come from in the great canon of monsters? I decided to find out. This is the history of zombie lore.

Where do zombies come from?

Some Metra trains make a terrible sound. This one, for instance, sounds like a velociraptor practicing a violin. 

Metra Train or Violin Practice?

Joy is not so much a fruit as it is a parasite. This and other things I learned by observing the role of joy in my life as a father and husband. 

Thoughts On Joy

For Father's Day, I wanted to tell something about how dads, in this case, my father-in-law, can push you to do something that may not make sense at the time, but when you think back to it later in life, you find you're very thankful they did. 

Elk Camp

There are many ways to go home. Many roads to drive. But at the end of every journey, the road home is always the same. 

Tim Akimoff

Popular tracks