Just Too Busy
Sometimes a friend will say the words indicating they want to know about your life, but their actions indicate differently.
Tarmac Meditations #81: Writing Not Running – A Love Story
I woke up this cold summer morning in the arms of a nightmare. The taste of last night’s crack cocaine still rancid in my mouth, the smoke drifting across the dust in the morning light, I was right there, right back where I used to be every morning … Read more →
Failing
How do we deal with people who are addicted? I see the effects of addiction around me daily. Sometimes it’s the lethargy and apathy of chronic pot smokers. Sometimes it’s the erratic, unpredictable behavior of drinkers and sometimes it’s the empty hollow zombie look of someone who’s smoking crack. While they present differently, they all have costs.
How To Deal With Coffee Withdrawals
Coffee isn’t good for everyone. If you have heart problems, high blood pressure, a sleep disorder, or suffer from anxiety, your doctor may ask you to quit coffee cold turkey. Dealing with coffee withdrawals can be a challenge. Here are five tips to help alleviate the suffering as you overcome your coffee dependency.
Tarmac Meditations #48: Track Work on Election Day
There are moments you never forget. On election day in Oregon, Michael looks back to the time he got his voter’s card when he came out of rehab, and how a bureaucratic slip of paper signaled a new start.
Learning to Live
The way Roxanne saw it, she had two choices: become homeless on the streets of Vancouver, or go into rehab in a rural community.
Tarmac Meditations #45: Get Your Ass Out and Run!
Running takes more than physical energy — it’s also a mental pursuit, as Michael Lebowitz knows well.
Tarmac Meditations #42: Slow Leaving
With the sound track of a Joni Mitchell song on his mind, a runner thinks about leaving for home after a marathon.
A Letter to Cocaine
A woman writes a farewell letter to cocaine, the drug that held her in such a grip that she gave up almost everything for it — and still it wanted more.
Tarmac Meditations #41: Marathon Day
Michael heads from Oregon up to Canada for a marathon in Victoria — and still manages to get some writing before daylight done.
