Back Squawk

Three Hecklers, Two Moms, One Cringy Conversation

Flying under the radar is easy for me, especially with my gray hair, a slightly tragic fanny pack, supportive hiking boots and a well-worn baseball cap. Confronting intoxicated college student hecklers at a sports event is not a practice I relish, but sometimes I can’t help myself from stepping into the mix. » Read more

Social Survival for Boys

The Challenges of Navigating Online Pressure

My concern for the well-being of boys and men started young and eventually inspired me to become an educator and a speaker. Flying under the radar in the land of boys well into my teens allowed me to witness common ways that boys manage the pressure to feel enough. » Read more

Fiasco Management

Pause, adapt, and in some situations…Dismiss

My parents, Reg and Nancy Pierce were in their mid-forties when they became innkeepers. From 1971 until 2002, Reg and Nance hosted a wide variety of events at Pierce’s Inn, sometimes taking on challenging events just to keep the Place afloat. » Read more

Drifty Over Fifty

Bruce and I have stepped up our dementia preventia efforts over the last few years. We feed the microbiome with a diversity of plants, sleep more, hydrate with gusto, exercise and meditate most days. He does crossword puzzles, and I do Sudoku. » Read more

Stop the Bitch

Compliance Training for girls starts early in life, and it lasts until they choose to stop playing by the rules and willingly pay the consequences. Girls and women are told to speak their minds but to be “nice” while they do so. » Read more

Big Pines in the Afternoon Light

Until my mother died at ninety-three years old, she maintained a deep connection to God. She always had a serene look on her face on our way back to the car after church. For me, sitting through church and religion class made me feel naughty for swearing, fighting with my sister, being mean to peers and not paying attention during the service. » Read more

Unexpected Down Time

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” — W.B. Yeats

There have been unexpected benefits of this collective pause in quarantine. Without question, living in rural New Hampshire makes it much easier to stay physically and emotionally healthy with regular access to nature and the outdoors. » Read more

The Stealth Germaphobe

It takes a Pandemic and about a week of quarantine to be reminded of the latent traits of family members. Bruce and I have been married for almost twenty-four years, and it turns out he is a full-on germophobe. As an innkeeper, he is vigilant in the kitchen; he has always required the servers to wash hands for twenty seconds, which he learned in his Safe Serve class years ago. » Read more