The value of examining your core beliefs regularly
The world is flat.
Applying leeches will get rid of a patient’s illness.
If someone takes your picture, they’ll steal your soul.
At one time, each of these statements was believed by groups of people. Today, we scoff at these theories because we know them to be untrue.
But the people who believed these things were not stupid.
The world’s best scientists believed the world was flat. Experienced, caring doctors believed leeches got rid of “bad” blood. Wise community leaders believed that spirits could be captured by cameras.
So what changed? How did people come to accept a different reality…
REDISCOVERING SELF
What else have I forgotten?
The ’70s was the era of canned tuna and cottage cheese and peach slices for the calorie-conscious woman. My mom was a fan. When I was growing up, she served cottage cheese with supper, maybe five or six times a month.
I liked it fine, but once I moved out, I don’t remember ever buying curds OR whey for my tuffet. It seemed like old-people food. And my meager food budget was allocated to only the basic necessities: pasta, chicken, bagels, frozen veggies, cereal, milk, chocolate, and Diet Coke. Mostly pasta and Diet Coke, to be honest.
A curd in the hand…
A few years…
PROFESSIONAL IMAGE
Bring together the best of both worlds for your image in a remote-work world
While scrolling LinkedIn recently, I read a post by a man who displayed two images of himself: a formal headshot taken by a professional and a casual selfie of him in polo shirt. He looked happy and relaxed in the casual shot, but his skin tone was very red, a dark shadow covered part of his face, and the photo was not in focus.
Nonetheless, people praised his new photo (the selfie), and he touted his new “casual” approach to his online image, which he felt matched the less formal approach to business while working from home. …
HUMOR
P.S. I’m hungry
Over the last 11 months, I’ve been lucky enough to remain healthy, employed, and safe while a pandemic rages all around the world. Oh, sure, I moan and groan about being tired of staying home, but at the bottom of all of that is deep gratitude for health and security.
And, sadly, at the bottom of me is an additional 12 pounds.
Apparently, sitting on the couch or in an office chair five feet away from the couch, which is just 15 feet from the kitchen, is a great way to fill out yoga pants.
Shhhh…don’t tell me I’m dieting!
I’ve learned over the years…
LEADERSHIP
Do them a REAL favor…let them make it on their own
Executives giving jobs to their college-aged kids or asking friends at other companies to find a place for them is a practice I was completely unfamiliar with before becoming a manager. I’d grown up in a blue-collar family. I was never aware of the invisible networking and “favor” economy that privileged people operate in.
In my 10 years managing marketing communications at a mid-sized company, I was forced to hire THREE college-aged offspring of executives as interns. Three.
The first two were sons who were “interested in marketing.” I was informed, not asked, that I’d be hiring them for the…
Distribution, views, reads, and other “topics”
Good afternoon. I’m a frequent Medium writer and an enthusiast for the platform.
Many of my fellow writers and I have questions about recent changes in distribution patterns and outcome.
It’s clear that something changed in the last few weeks that has opened the floodgates of “further distribution” (formerly known as “curation”). Many, many more articles are being distributed in topics. The impact of this is that views and reads are declining significantly. The “bump” we used to get when an article was chosen for distribution no longer exists. We see no or little effect from distribution.
In addition, the…
MICROFICTION
100 words
As Janessa turned into the parking lot, something light and plastic tumbled out of her purse and smacked the passenger door.
“Whatever it is, it’s under the seat now,” she mumbled.
Hurriedly she reached under the seat of Merrilee’s car, which she’d borrowed to get to the job interview. Juice box straw. Sticky cheerio. Quarter. Ah…her lipstick tube. Distracted and nervous, she applied a fresh coat without a glance before dashing inside.
The interview went poorly. Awkward from start to finish.
Entering the mirrored elevator after, she caught sight of herself.
Laughing, she pulled from her bag Purple Princess Sparklestick.
…
GRAMMAR
If only it were easier
If I were a rich man,
Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum.
So sings Tevye, the main character in Fiddler on the Roof, as he laments his lack of wealth in a signature tune from the popular musical. He may be poor, but he knows what’s up: the correct application of subjunctive mood, using “were” rather than “was.”
But more often than not, we hear “if I was” in everyday conversation. In this article, we’ll explore proper handling of subjunctive mood and why it’s important for anyone who wants to be a polished writer or speaker.
A review of verb moods
POETRY
Cold comfort
Fireplace roaring.
Snow-dappled dogs curled by my feet,
Dripping frigid drops onto bare toes.
I tuck them up farther into the blanket.
Outside, the snow silently assembles
Flake upon flake,
Inch upon inch.
Clouds billow from the shuddering awning,
Sending a dusting to the shrubs below,
Burying lingering Christmas lights one week deeper.
I long to pull on red rubber boots
Not seen since childish adventures,
Wrap my neck with a scratchy hand-knit scarf,
And button the leopard-print coat I so adored.
Outside, the snow steadily assembles
Flake upon flake,
Inch upon inch.
A vast virgin landscape awaits. No footprints…
OPINION
Where do we go from here?
The votes are in. Even with a majority of U.S. Senators in agreement that the former president is guilty of inciting a violent insurrection, he was not convicted.
The fix was in from the beginning. In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, 43 GOP senators colluded with the most corrupt, authoritarian president in U.S. history and voted to acquit him for the high crimes he committed.
Even though they themselves were put at risk during the siege on the Capitol. Even though they know that the entire “protest” was predicated on a Big Lie — that the election had…
Tina L. Smith
Writer, humorist, animal lover, lifelong language geek (er, I proofread for fun). I write on diverse topics that catch my fancy. Everything but haiku(tm).
