@carol_mcclain Would you like a half a million dollars? I would. Fixated on Discovery’s Alone, I root for my favorite contestants. In one season, a man who had little to do with his family, who ignored his mother’s funeral for the adventure, who thought he needed no one, discovered otherwise. To a finalist–the main motivation in …[ read more ]

The NASCAR Busch Series field at Texas Motor Speedway in April 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) You know your life resembles NASCAR. You race at incredible speeds, near misses, exhilarating moments, crashes, boredom, re-starts. It’s exhausting. Then the race ends and what do you have? That’s been my life lately. Family visited my new home in …[ read more ]

     Thirty-four years ago I met the most wonderful person I’ve ever known. She lay on my belly, her beautiful round face staring up at me. Eyes bluer than any robin’s egg held mine. I fell in love with the child who would become my closest friend.     She’s a faithful friend. Once the bond had …[ read more ]

Picking the defining trait of my mother daunts me. Could it be her generosity? She is, without doubt the most generous person I know. The quintessential example would be the time she took the whole family—22? of us—to Punta Cana for a Club Med vacation. It took place in 1992, and to this day, we …[ read more ]