I THOUGHT AWAY A WART ONCE. Scoff if you will, but I thought it away. It gripped my big toe for weeks, like a stubborn toad. Oh! I hated that wart! In the summer of my 15th year, I was certain that because of it, I was unpopular and unlovable. After worrying it and worrying […]
Think, Dream, Play: Keeping your word vs. the Sunk Cost Fallacy
I HATE TO SAY IT, but my father-in-law lives in the realm of the Sunk Cost Fallacy. Retired more than 30 years, he continues to chip away at one of his stated goals for his retirement: Read the classics! An admirable goal, to be sure. But realistic? Let’s just see: If I know him, he […]
Send Me Your Dreams: Sex, death and automobiles
IN ANTICIPATION OF THE 31ST ANNUAL Conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, to be held at the Doubletree Hotel at the Berkeley Marina June 4-8, let’s look at some timeless insights into dream meaning by the Rev. Jeremy Taylor, co-founder and past president of the IASD. You most likely have known […]
Think, Dream, Play: High-fructose corn syrup made me stupid
IT’S NOT MY FAULT! Nobody told me concentrated sugar water would erode my noodle. Oh, they told me it would keep me awake until it made me crash. They said it would confuse my pancreas and distort my skinny jeans. But only now, well past the point of no return, do they tell me it’s […]
Think, Dream, Play: Tip-toeing through ‘O’
I’VE HAD IT WITH OPRAH. Mind you, I used to love her. I used to imagine sitting in one of those oversized chairs on her set and explaining where I get the ideas for my columns. “Oh, they are everywhere!” I’d say happily. Then, in my wisdom, I’d add, “The personal is the universal.” She’d […]
Think, Dream, Play: Something for which to strive
I COULD BE A CLICHE. I mean if I really worked at it. I could. But I don’t want to be just any cliché. For example, I don’t want to be an “aging hippie.” You don’t have to work for that. All you have to do is stand still and chant, “Throwback! Throwback!” No, I’m […]