One of the responsibilities I have as a Dad, involves showing Atlas how to live his life. I don’t have any interest in dictating what he does, as much as I look forward to helping him understand the best how to live it. I think most parents want their children to do better than they did. “Better” […]
When I was little, I remember my Dad used to have a phrase he repeated frequently. I never understood what he meant until I grew up and got a firsthand look at the world around me. ”Nobody ever lost money underestimating the stupidity of the American people.” – Wim Plaat One of the reasons why […]
One afternoon, a Dad found himself hiking in the forest with his little boy. It was a cool afternoon in Portland, and the two were taking advantage of the weekend-long Summer weather, when suddenly his little boy stopped to ask him a question: ”Daddy, what’s God?” Smiling, the man looked down at the boy and […]
It feels like yesterday. I remember the feeling of my blue heather sheets, the sharpness of the birch bed frame that grazed my arm and the cold, white depths of the walls I stared into after I hung up the phone and fell back asleep…knowing I would never wake up a boy ever again. Sixteen […]
My mother once told me a story about a man who was going to bed and was startled by a noise he heard downstairs. The man lived alone in an old county house, and as he walked down the creaky wooden stairs, he looked into his living room and saw a surprise visitor rocking back […]
As a child, I grew up in a home filled with musical instruments. I mean, filled. Most kids grew up with a piano. I can’t count the number of pianos that made their way in and out of the Plaat household in the years I spent there as a child. Beyond pianos, I can count a huge […]
One of my favorite things about playing a musical instrument is the moment where I get lost in the music. There’s an intricate dance between a musical instrument and the person playing it; one can’t shine without the other – a poorly-made instrument can fill a performance hall when played by a maestro. …a maestro […]
Years ago, I remember reading a short piece written by an artist. He (we used that word back then) described the experience of performing onstage during live music performances with an intoxicating tone that made you feel like you were on stage, smelling the paint fumes with him. He used one phrase that’s stuck with […]
This morning, I woke up at 5:30am and excitedly got ready for the day ahead. I was going trail riding on my bike that morning with a friend, and I was eager to challenge myself and take on a trail riding my new Trek. I spent most of the prior evening cleaning out my garage […]
Today, I had the opportunity to sit and chat with Atlas’s grandparents about life – before and after being a parent. The conversation made me reflect on my own journey as a man, father and son. There’s a phrase I’ve heard often, which goes something like this: ”I run the race in front of me […]