Podcasts by A Well Run Life

Don't Worry from 2019-08-14T04:34:42

Don’t worry

The song Don't Worry, Be Happy was written expressly for me. Because if there is nothing to worry about - than I worry about the absence of something to worry about. Listen

Am I Vain? from 2019-08-09T16:57:02

I don't think of myself as a violent man, but when I hear:

"You look great..... for 48." 

I get a little nutty. That qualifier sort of negates the compliment, no?...

Ice Cream in the Morning from 2019-08-03T21:45:11

I have been traveling to big cities these past three weeks. Austin, Chicago and San Diego. 

I have walked to nearly all my meetings on these trips. The number of homeless people ...

Kissing Babies from 2019-07-25T02:22:17

My Mom is Italian and my Dad is Irish.

I am in the immigrant cycle of Americans where the immigrants were passing in the first 10 years of my life.

Those born in ...

Our New One from 2019-07-20T02:48:57

It was a big week in our family. 

I have a new niece as of last week.

My brother-in-law and his wife added a perfect little cutie-pie to the family. Mother...

Here's Looking At You from 2019-07-12T02:50:53

I am not saying I am competitive, but I was 48 when it happened.

He was 50.

By “it” – I mean having to buy reading glasses.

By “him” – I mean my D...

Flow from 2019-07-08T19:53:37

The ocean brings me peace in a way no other place can –

In the waves of the Southern California Pacific Ocean I feel divine generosity and a safe smallness.

Salt ...

Renew from 2019-06-20T02:43:10

I am in a season of change.

Although, it’s occurred to me that perhaps we are always in a season of change

and we just come

in and out of

realizing ...

Grace in the Morning Rain from 2019-03-12T18:43:27

The word Grace can mean so many things but idea of un-merited favor is my favorite.

I live a life absent so many problems and full of so many blessings.

My strengths and weaknesses...

47, 48 from 2019-03-12T04:15:24

For years, it’s been my habit to do a podcast near my birthday to mark the moment.

Well, it’s been 6 months since my last birthday and so I realize I will soon be staring another one in t...

Monsoon Season from 2018-07-31T03:52:03

Some dirty rotten scoundrel stole my Trailer at Grace Farms.

I doubt the thief realized that it was my trailer.

To the thief, it was “A” Trailer or “The Trailer.”

Be that as...

Not Small from 2018-06-17T20:30:12

Every wave seems to make it a point to let me know how powerless I am to stop it.

But this doesn’t bother me.

I go over or under their power without any fear.

On Kale and Daughters from 2018-05-30T20:50:27

I am staring at the Kale.

And the Kale is staring back.

When it was a seed – small and full of potential – it needed me to coax it from it’s confining shell out to a wide-open worl...

For Example from 2018-05-18T18:46:03

If you are wondering if you are ready for the big adventure ahead.

Let me report form the edges of competence

It’s a dangerous ledge with risks of may even be fat...

My Last Card from 2018-04-09T05:15:06

I am crying.

Two seconds ago, I was a middle-aged man planning his day over an Americano.

Then, I get a text from my cousin.

I am not crying quiet – dignified-like.

M...

Chicken Eggs from 2018-03-22T04:57:38

I am standing in front of a steaming pile.

It’s taller than I am, and so I get to work. I am raking and shoveling the mulch delivered to Grace Farms with the discipline of an army ant. Listen

House Marks from 2018-02-21T04:06:59

The desert winter can be harsh.

There are times when it I so wicked one is compelled to put their socks on.

Since I am a tough guy, I am going without socks this morning. Out into ...

DM's Triumph from 2017-11-26T17:51:32

It is an hour after Thanksgiving dinner.

Family traditions throttle the pace of any high holiday – national or religious.

I am currently throttling my 13 year-old nephew on the nea...

Rockin' The House from 2017-11-18T19:04:52

I am 20 and playing lead guitar.

I am by far the worst musician in the band. 

They likely would have been a house-hold name if they had not been saddled with me. ...

Refocus from 2017-10-23T19:03:45

The Road Runner at Grace Farms is eye-balling me.

He was there before me, and he is intent on not letting me forget it.

The bird presents himself t...

Heroic Dips*** from 2017-10-22T16:38:41

“Don’t talk to Pete. He is a dipshit.”

In another era of my professional life, I read this love-note on an e-mail from a disgruntled client to her boss. I am unsure whether I was copied i...

The Unlikely Is Not The Imposible from 2017-10-17T15:47:48

Somewhere in the mid- 1960’s he is in the 10th grade and doing a handstand on the top rails of the Empire State Buildings observation deck.

Some volunteer parent looking after the high sc...

Leave A Message from 2017-10-07T02:08:09

"Ya ought to be ashamed of yourself!"

This is my first voicemail of the day.

When I worked for a giant company and held a position of authority and...

The Gospel of Doubt from 2017-09-26T01:16:31

It goes without saying: 

I do not know what I am doing.

I killed all the tilapia in my aquaponics farm because I misunderstood how to keep them healthy.

30 chickens on the f...

Bee Careful from 2017-09-22T03:37:12

I am in no danger of becoming an expert.

In Anything.

She is calling me because she wants me to be safe.

I want to pick-up to tell her I am safe.

However, I am standi...

46, 47 from 2017-09-17T00:49:43

Somewhere in the development of the human species we learned to use tools. There is a great scene in the move 2001: A Space Odyssey that imagines the moment when our primordial ancestors learned...

In The Weeds from 2017-09-02T21:26:33

In our desert, water occasionally falls from the sky sufficiently to create Flash Floods and awaken the seeds of future tumbleweeds and voracious milk weeds.

Let me do my best to avoid th...

Clever or Not You're Ready from 2017-08-27T00:50:22

My mom says I am smart, but that I am not clever.

I am sure I am not smart enough to know what she means – but I have thought about her description often over the years. 

My thinki...

Needful Things from 2017-08-14T03:37:48

I have a very particular style of home improvement.

My instincts attune to the whatever is the easiest, most efficient route

And I travel that path only after exhausting every sing...

Salad Days from 2017-08-09T04:22:23

As I type this the tender heads of my babies are passing through the digestive tracks of my enemies. 

I don’t know about you, but when I see a baby – eating it’s head off is not the first...

Chicken Hit from 2017-07-29T00:51:13

If the Chickens had a Mafia, this is how I imagined they would settle old scores.

Upon returning from a trip out of town, I walked on to Grace Farms.

There, I found all my girls- w...

Snow Storm from 2017-07-17T02:08:38

The movie in my imagination shows a mid-sized dog launching from an easy boy and chewing the nose off my face.

To make matters worse, Jon Snow is back in town tonight.

Right along ...

Pale Cucumbers from 2017-07-17T01:23:18

Placing the cucumbers in the harsh desert light seems a harsh.

Under the pressure of the summer heat they will either shrivel and die, or come into the fullness of their flavor.

 I...

Stings from 2017-07-14T01:30:28

We are obsessively watching The Americans on Amazon Prime.

If you tasted this bit of Telivision Crack, chances are you’e done the same.

The show is overtly politi...

Antsy from 2017-07-04T15:58:20

If you knew how much I hate the ants in my garden, you would be creating a Kickstarter campaign to cover the bills associated with my much-needed therapy.

The little demons aside...

Stinky Honey from 2017-06-25T15:28:22

My wife’s palate is very sharp. She can parse flavors in dishes down to the spices and the addresses of the pigs who gave their lives for the pork in our stew.

With great tasting powers c...

Unambiguous Work from 2017-06-05T21:09:30

My record as an entrepreneur is unambiguous. 

I am an awful entrepreneur.

 I have been pretty-good at making large sums of money for other people, but I have recycled my earnings t...

Straighten Out from 2017-04-27T04:30:46

The bones of the spine want to sit directly on top of each other.

The shoulders want to be down and back.

Pull yourself out of alignment and tell me you like it.

Slouch and ...

The Promise Of A Blue Sky from 2017-02-03T20:46:28

I hear the engine of a small airplane and the sky is very blue.

Who knows how memory works.

This is among m...

Parking Lot Prayers from 2016-11-30T04:05:06

You never want to call someone crazy, but he was dressed in the blues of the local mental hospital. We were standing in front of a local grocery store. 

I truly enjoyed this neighborhood....

Two Dogs from 2016-11-13T00:56:28

In cultural wisdom that I have incorporated into my world view, I learned that there are two dogs inside all of us.

The good dog.

And the bad dog.

And they fight with each o...

Dog's Life from 2016-10-25T04:38:47

I am making my dogs omelettes in the morning. 

They love it.

It’s true, my family and I are all a bit snobby about food.

In an over-quick yes, my fiancé mistaken said yes to...

Shofar, So Good from 2016-10-02T00:37:36

Not to be indelicate, but it is a menstruation. And I walked right in on her.

I am pretty sure she was thinking: I need to get a bell around that guy’s neck. Clearly he was not r...

Chicken Patzer from 2016-09-26T03:05:07

My organic chicken is in a giant Tampax Tampon carton.

This vexes me.

However, Costco is unmoved by my consternation. It is possible they did not even notice.

Use Your Words from 2016-09-22T16:16:27

"TV rots your brain.”

My parents tell me this early in life.

Being stout, I braved it nonetheless. At age 8, watching Batman, I calculated: I am doing OK in school and I still have...

The House Smells from 2016-09-22T03:23:55

Once, when the family was broke – we bought that muffin dough that comes in an exploding can was on sale: 1 can for a dime.

We bought some sort of pig rind that the butcher essentially ga...

Turner for the Worst from 2016-09-07T04:03:33

I left the church because I would not be – what we called at the time – a “cafeteria” Catholic. This is somebody who picks and chooses what they believe, rather than believe the entire fabric re...

Wilder, DNA from 2016-08-30T16:30:08

I skip many comedies because they seem to be striving for the "most shocking" of crassness and volume. Too little use of language and subtlety for me.

Maybe if more comedians had...

Grapefruit from 2016-08-02T20:52:18

I am pretty sure the grapefruit crime was victimless.

It is impossible for me to know if my Nana was just making a mundane task more interesting by placing me in the role of Law-Breaker o...

Turns from 2016-08-02T15:44:01

I just returned from an island.

One side was calm and the sea placid.

Almost too calm – as if the Pacific was just some big lake.

The other side churned.

The wind, re...

Judgment from 2016-08-01T22:08:18

If you can name it, you change your relationship to it.

That is my father in a mask.

That’s a ledge – not a plank I will be forced to walk.

A dog bit me, but all dogs won’t ...

Spring Break from 2016-07-28T19:32:41

Despite the evidence, I know I am not stupid.

My daughters accepted our vacation with perfect, un-solicited gratitude. They enjoyed the trip un-self consciously....

Not Russian It from 2016-07-27T22:58:30

It takes 6 and a half minutes of vapid attention to scrape my big melon clean.

This hair-cut takes 45. And I am told:

 what’s what

 what should be...

Draw Carefully from 2016-07-27T20:24:27

When you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

We all need the whole toolbox.

Not full of one thing, but with many rulers, saws, pliers, plumb lines.

Where you a...

Passion Fruit from 2016-07-27T20:15:17

I am insecure about a great many things, but my work ethic isn’t one of them.

I can worry a problem into submission.

Of this I am supremely confident.

But, I must report, my...

Honest Wages from 2016-07-27T19:34:52

I am a not a good cheater.

I always pay a deeper price than the bargain I ask for.

If I want something that is to be earned, I always have to travel the full nine yards.

Man Up from 2016-07-26T16:38:57

“I would flex, but I like this shirt”

This is written across a tee shirt my children bought me for Christmas. They have an ironic sense of humor.

My many tee shir...

The Lion and His Lioness from 2016-07-19T20:59:57

Most things should be shared.

But not everything.

My parents celebrated 44 years of marriage on Friday with a bouquet of flowers and a hotel room in Seattle.  On ...

Grow! from 2016-07-19T20:57:12

We should make all spiritual talk Simple today:

God is trying to sell you something, But you don’t want to buy.

That is wh...