Imagine that a single life preserver is randomly dropped somewhere within the 139 million square miles of Earth’s oceans. And now imagine that somewhere, in one of those oceans, a single turtle is swimming underwater. The probability of that lone turtle sticking its head out of the...
Ella’s scowl deepened as she peered ahead at the traffic jam that threatened to make us late to school. “What bad luck,” she said, noticing that we were stuck in the slowest-moving lane. “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows,” I replied. I offered a smile, secretly hoping Ella...
Our summer vacation was coming to an end. As we packed our suitcases in the hotel room in Kenya, I noticed Emma had tears running down her cheeks. I stopped what I was doing and walked toward her. “What’s bothering you, Emma?” I asked gently, kneeling...
There were 37 tabs open on my web browser. My computer was not happy about this. I knew this because a notification popped up, warning me that some of the webpages were using too much memory and suggesting that I close some tabs. I don't know...
The social media posts show children with smiling little faces who are headed back to school. In their hands, they hold boards with their age, grade, school and teacher’s name. Some signs include their favorite color or food or what they might want to be...
“This is a present from a small, distant world…” -President Jimmy Carter When the two Voyager spacecraft launched into the unknown in 1977 with a mission to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space, each contained an identical phonograph record known as The Golden Record. Just...
After a few days full of MRIs, physical exams, EMGs and nerve conduction studies, my father-in-law met with the neurologist to go over his results. We had known something wasn't right, but on this day, there was a definitive answer to what was wrong. The neurologist gently told...
I sit down to write my blog in a small restaurant with only three tables inside. The walls are covered with signatures of unknown people who have visited over the years, like a giant visitor’s book. I pick up a black sharpie that’s in a...
When we were children, we used to think that when we grew up, we would no longer be vulnerable. But to grow up is to accept vulnerability…to be alive is to be vulnerable. -Madeleine L’Engle Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi catapulted to fame with his chart-topping single “Someone...
The exam room was quiet as the nurse took my blood pressure during my annual physical. It was so quiet that I could hear the patient speaking in the next room. “I don’t want to talk about quitting smoking,” the man said angrily. “You should know...