Journey to the Past
When Charlotte was 20 and just getting started as a writer, she sent one of her creations to England’s top poet. Poet Laureate Robert Southey liked Charlotte’s work. But in a letter dated March 12, 1837, he wrote, “Literature cannot be the business of a womanās life: & it ought not to be. The more…
Read More
Sydney Story didn’t ask to have the red light district named after him (who would ask for that???). It just turned out that way. Here’s Story’s story: He was an alderman in New Orleans who, in 1897, wrote legislation to establish “The District. It was an area north of the French Quarter where prostitution (technically…
Read More
Today is my birthday… …which means I’m thinking more than usual about my dad. Dad died on this day in 1990, my 25th birthday. That evening, family and friends gathered at our house to remember Dad and mourn our loss. At some point, Mom interrupted the somber chatter by marching into the living room with…
Read More
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you this important announcement: You still have time to register for today’s free masterclass, How to Turn Your Book (or Other Content) Into a Lead-Attracting, Client-Generating Machine. Details and registrationĀ here. Now, back to our program… After seeing Lucinda Williams in concert on Sunday, I bought her memoir, Don’t Tell…
Read More
Last night, Melissa and I saw the rock opera Rent at The Muny, the great outdoor theater one mile from our house in St. Louis. It was a beautiful, cloudless night — mild and breezy. The second act opened with Seasons of Love (“…five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes. How do you measure a year in the life?”)…
Read More
On this day 247 years ago, our “founding fathers” acted. They decried tyranny and declared independence. A bold, brave move. Twelve years later, they ratified a Constitution… “…in order to form a more perfect Union.” I like that story. It inspires me. And today, on July 4, I reflect on it and celebrate. I don’t…
Read More
Itās almost summer. Time to pack up the kiddos and send them to grandmaās houseā¦ ā¦or campā¦ ā¦or some other far away place. In olden days, here in the good olā USA, you could dress the youngins in their Sunday finest, slap a few stamps on their coats, and drop āem at the post office. …
Read More
Blow the horn and tap the tambourine… It’s National Tell a Story Day! So buckle up, Buttercup. It’s story time. (This is one of my favorites) About a quarter-century ago, when my twins were toddlers, we were spending the weekend at our country place in the Ozark foothills in south-central Missouri. The ground was thirsty.…
Read More
This is one of those “boys just one have fun” stories. A story about a U.S. president who knew he might be punished if he continued his reckless behavior. A story that was covered up for years but eventually got out. A story about… … … … … … Ulysses S. Grant It happened in…
Read More
Here’s a story from my upcoming book — about my transformation from a hard-pitch sales guy to a “story-seller…” I was sitting in my office at MarketVolt, the email marketing software company I founded in 2001. I was making some phone calls when our VP of Sales, Pat, bounded in. Heād come from a meeting where…
Read More