Uncategorized Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Dallin Malmgren
2019
My Writing Confession
I was only supposed to teach for five years. After that I was going to be a successful Young Adult author, about one book a year, speaking engagements around the country, maybe a movie deal or two. You know, John Green. That was the dream, and I worked at it—you should see the voluminous notes, […]
2019
The Detritus of Life
I have a confession to make, and it is pretty horrible…some of you should stop reading now. This really happened. Karen and I and her Aunt Faith were staying the night in Fenton, Missouri after spending the whole day moving Faith out of her home. The next day we would fly to Dallas where Faith […]
2019
“Is it fun being you?” … (why I asked that)
I suspect most teachers have certain questions they use as conversation starters (especially on a 1:1 basis). One of mine was: “Can I ask you a personal question?” If they said no or hesitated, I said, “Okay, fine.” Nine times out of ten, those recalcitrant ones would say, “Never mind. What is it?” Most of […]
2019
Ch-ch-ch-changes
Do you even want to change? Yeah, I know about all the self-help books sold every year…but I think telling ourselves we would like to change is spiritual comfort food. And taking itty-bitty steps down that path is dessert. Then you are done. Do you want to change? We all feel like we should, in one […]
2019
Reading revisited
While playing golf, my friend Dan asked what I would do with the rest of my day. After making the “If I have a beer, I will probably take a nap” confession, I said I’d probably work on my blog or read. “Reading never came easy to me, so I don’t read much,” Dan said, […]
2019
Reflections on retirement–then and now
This is a bit of a cheat, but I like it and it’s my blog. You know how Facebook will play like your memory, revisiting things you posted in the past? I posted what follows shortly after I retired. I want to repost it, along with comments on how it looks five years later. (Comments […]
2019
Artfulness
The world needs more art. I realized this as I was watching a film called Eighth Grade awhile back. I wondered what made me appreciate the movie so much. It was a realistic portrait, very much the way kids are (as I remember from teaching and being). And it was uplifting. Certain values were sown […]
2019
To thine own self be gentle
You cannot be judged by status; you cannot be judged by success; you cannot be judged by Facebook friends or neighbors’ opinions; …by your spouse;…by your parents or your children; and you should not be judged by yourself. There’s only one Judge. And, let’s face it, you have been found guilty, and, thank God, you […]
2019
In Praise of Jubal (Music makes the world go round)
“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” –Aldous Huxley When I decided to write about music, I asked Aunt Faith what kind of music under what circumstances has had an impact on her life. “None,” she replied. “I don’t listen to music.” I was amazed. We moved a collection of […]
2019
The Other
So you are here. You know that you cannot have created yourself, but you are aware of a self. Your mom and dad? That’s just biology—they had no hand in designing you. They were busy enjoying other things. You and The Other—that which created you. This is an immediate and an eternal relationship. If you […]
2019
Dreams (…are only in your head…)
I used to tell my students that dreams were one of the greatest gifts we received—free life. I’d tell them that I knew exactly how it felt to be shot because one time I had—in a dream. I had experienced, close up, in an open field, the power of a hurricane. (If I was on […]
2019
Part II: Phrases and thoughts…(from God)
This might seem like just a continuation of my last post, but really it’s not. Those last ones (Phrases and thoughts that opened up my mind) I would call accidental—I was living my life and these ideas jumped out at me and stuck. This next set I would call interventional—at the risk of grandiosity, God […]
2019
Phrases and thoughts that have opened up my mind
(Photo by Steve Slate) Okay, I am sure you have your own list, but if mine gets you thinking about yours, that is a good thing. All that follows are illuminations, insights, existential hypotheses, moments of clarity, revelations that changed the way I looked at the world. I mean, stuff that stuck with me. Most of […]
2019
Discord (marital and otherwise)
Discord (marital and otherwise) Sometimes it feels like a bear-trap snapping shut. You were just walking along, and the next thing you know it’s right in front of you. I’m not saying you can’t see it coming…you just choose not to. So when it hits you’re not ready. Which generally leads to more discord. Of […]
2019
The Log
Okay, I told this story a hundred times in my classroom: At my old high school in Upper Darby, PA there was a revered couple, Johnny Scott and Sally Drake. Johnny was the star quarterback and Sally was the head cheerleader somewhere back in the 1950’s. They went to Silver Lake to make out, and […]
2019
That was the Lord (events, major and minor)
We all have experiences that illuminate my selected title—even if we don’t acknowledge them. As long as you accept that there is an Other out there—as a creature (you didn’t make yourself) you accredit a creator—you have to be available for the possibility of an interaction with Him/Her/It/Force. Maybe you don’t have to—if He speaks, […]
2017
A message to my former students
As soon as I retired, I started having these dreams. The principal walked into my classroom to evaluate me and I was completely unprepared. Or I was driving the school bus down the highway and my tennis kids were hanging out the windows, ignoring me as I screamed at them. Or my seniors in English […]
2017
Karen’s poem — A Lament for Sutherland Springs
Here’s the thing: it’s gotten hard to watch the news because a madman (or madmen) doing horrible things to innocent people has become such a frequent occurrence. But Sutherland Springs hit us hard. As we watched the story unfold, it shook us to the core. For one thing, it’s so close (only 30 miles away). […]
2017
Hello, Jesus: my true confession
It has been about three and a half years since I retired from teaching. I have to confess, I haven’t looked back at all. Don’t miss it, haven’t kept in touch, don’t think about it (but still dream about it!)—I even avoid good old Clemens High School like the plague. I knew that when I […]
2012
The Sixties Kid, Bonjour Boys & Out of My Hands at Lulu.com
Three previously unreleased books NOW available at Lulu.com!
2012
Whatever you are doing…
Is there a gene for creativity? I have no idea. I do have a collection of my father’s short stories, which he never published although I think they are quite good. And I see a creative flair in all three of my children, but especially in my middle child, Nathan (Silace Amaro). I’d like to […]
2012
I do hereby resolve…
Yep, I believe. I’ve been making New Year’s resolutions for years and keeping them for months. When my children were growing up, we’d all sit down at the kitchen table on New Year’s Eve and make up a list of ten resolutions. (Was that my idea?) Then we’d throw in two or three for each […]