Blog Archives - Page 11 of 11 - Dallin Malmgren

Old Texas Gravestone

Death is not the end…

… and how a dog taught me that. I am not a pet per­son.  Karen and I do not have a pet at this point, and that is by my pref­er­ence with her reluc­tant assent.  But I don’t expect it to last too long.  I have observed and rec­og­nized and even come to respect an undeniable […]

Old Ford Pick-up truck

Losing things…

I lost my school keys last week­end.  I know, an unre­mark­able event…is it worth writ­ing about?  Yes, because most of us lose stuff, and I’m curi­ous to know if my expe­ri­ence of loss and recov­ery fol­lows a com­mon thread.  Feed­back is invit­ed. First off, it was a big deal.  Those keys unlock my job—the doors […]

Wife and husband in conversation

Spousal arguments…

Karen and I had a fight on Fri­day.  I have the com­mon sense and the deco­rum not to use this blog as a sound­ing board (or soap­box) for the intri­ca­cies of our rela­tion­ship, but it did get me think­ing about mar­i­tal dis­cord.  I am pleased and relieved that as we get old­er, our fights are […]

Water Lilies at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles

A good listener…

…is a joy to engage.  There is a com­fort to be found in the sym­pa­thet­ic ear and the atten­tive mind that tran­scends friend­ship or fel­low­ship or even ther­a­py.  Good lis­ten­ers are a hot com­mod­i­ty in the com­merce of inter­per­son­al rela­tions.  And they’re not that easy to find.  Become a good lis­ten­er and you are guaranteed […]

Abstract grasses with digital effect

Shock treatments…

I have wit­nessed at least 20 elec­tric shock treat­ments in my life.  In my younger days I worked as a psy­chi­atric aide for six years at the Mid-Mis­­­souri Men­tal Health Cen­ter.  (When I tell my stu­dents this, some­one always comes up with the wiseguy ques­tion:  “Are you sure you worked there?”  My stock answer:  “There’s […]

Peace Like a River Cover

A good book…

I just fin­ished read­ing a book, Peace like a Riv­er by Leif Enger, for the sec­ond time.  I hard­ly ever do that.  Life is too short, and there are too many books I want to read.  But I liked this book so well I select­ed it for my book group (we rotate choos­ing), and reading […]