In the last few weeks, I’ve been waking up before sunrise in order to get to the local skate park. I wake up early in order to beat the heat, but also to avoid seeing anybody else at the park – there’s still a part of me that feels like the new kid in the […]
There are a lot of things you have to look out for when you’re a parent; not only are you responsible for your own life and safety, but you’re also responsible for ensuring the security and safety of your offspring. In most cases, the offspring are a lot more likely to stick a knife in […]
Years ago, I watched one of my now-favorite movies for the first time. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a timeless tale about time, life, love and happiness. ”It’s never too late – or in my case, too early – to be who you want to be. There are no rules to this thing…” For over ten […]
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 […]