A guide to some of the things I’ve published on Medium and elsewhere. — Conversations with My Wife Chats with Deb My wife and I, just talking about stuff. Formerly "Conversations with My Wife" and with all the old posts.jherlocker.medium.com Lessons & Observations I Like Being Married One weird guy’s experience being married to his best friend(s)byrslf.co Start With a Partnership Romance is good, friendship is good, but a romantic relationship has got to be a working partnershipmedium.com

“I told the elders and I’m telling you, this clay pot thing is STUPID!” — Wandering around our local woods—okay, purposefully engaging in immersion in a natural setting without directional guidance, whatever—we see lots of things. Pretty rocks, flowers, places where somebody chainsawed fallen trees when they fell over the trail, places where nobody chainsawed fallen trees and hikers have had to establish bypasses… We…

Usually we only get those during months with a vowel in them… — Medium promised Yet Another Awesome Page Redesign: A simpler page for stories on Medium We’ve heard your feedback: A streamlined, easier-to-read page, plus more image optionsblog.medium.com This would be the first makeover since <checks watch> y’know, doesn’t matter, what counts is, they’re trying to improve the pages with better photo options.

CAUTION: There is not a happy ending! — (Dennett, you might want to have Louise screen this one. Just sayin’.) DEB: Jackster! We have a bunny! (points in the direction of the middle of our backyard, then goes back to working on her laptop as she sits in our porch) ME: (I stick my head into the porch…

So the potholes and rocks are… what, exactly? — The April prompt from W&W: Stones of Life What are your challenges?medium.com What unwelcome lessons from childhood have stayed with you? Have you been able to shake free of them? How? Sometimes the lessons we learn as kids don’t solidify until we get older. And then get revised as we get even older. My parents, from my…

Wild? Or just lost? — In theory there are no such things as feral daffodils, but we have seen patches in wood and meadow and median whose origins are lost to time and whose purpose is now a thing unto itself In the spring around south central PA, we see clusters of daffodils in odd places. Sometimes it feels like someone had extra bulbs in the car, was passing a place, and decided “Hey, y’know what would be great there, next spring? Daffs!” And then pull over and plant them. Because why not?

No no, seriously! — The waiter looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. “Um… I’m sorry, ma’am, what am I supposed to do with this?” “It’s your tip!” the older lady replied with a chuckle in her voice. “Don’t worry, you earned it!” “Ummmm… okay. What do I do with it?”…

A book by two sisters called Sistering My wife likes to read books. It’s less expensive than other habits. She just finished a new one. The author, Danielle Neff (Danielleneff) (full disclosure: also our pastor) sent Deb an advance reader copy of her book, Sistering: The Art of Holding Close…

Sometimes cats who start with bad lives get treated well, and return the favor — Caution — reading this may induce a lacrimal reaction in sensitive souls. There was this kitten. My then-wife, Linda, and her girlfriend Tish rescued her from a shelter. She’d been someone else’s cat, but they moved and couldn’t take her with them, so she went to the shelter. …