When calling upon a dormant skill or action we often use the phrase, “it’s like riding a bike.” That’s because once you learn how to ride a bike, it’s a difficult thing to forget. What is easy to forget though: Actually buying a bike. That is where I found myself recently when prepping for a date with my daughter Nola…
Ryan Long Posts
Blue whales. They are the largest animals to ever exist on planet Earth, weighing over 300,000-pounds. That’s not a typo. Three hundred thousand pounds! To put it in perspective, that’s how heavy the regret is of the person who first set up Donald Trump’s Twitter account. As big as these aquatic behemoths are they feed on surprisingly tiny creatures: Krill.…
My wife and I were putting our girls, Nola(8) and Violet(6), to bed recently and they asked us to tell them a story from our childhood. Preferably an embarrassing one, they added. They must have been in the mood for laughter—like always—and humiliation at the expense of their parents was bound to be low hanging fruit. Also, they may have…
I time-traveled recently. In a couple different ways. Vortex In October my wife, four kids, and myself squeezed into our minivan and pointed it toward Pittsburg. No, not that one. Pittsburg, Kansas. A dear friend of ours was turning fifty-years-old and a surprise party that had been marinating for many months was finally underway. It is a very weighty decision…
Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year. It may edge out over Christmas a little bit. Shhhhh, don’t tell our super-conservative upbringing that. The beauty of this fall celebration lies in its extraversion. It’s the one time, out of the entire year, where we collectively set down our political stances, ideals, and opinions—unless of course your opinion…
Things have been kind of crazy around the Long household. We have undergone some changes this year and our schedule and life-rhythm has felt the shockwaves. Bouncing along on these waves has been my writing time. Hence a blogging absence for the past couple months. I wanted to give a brief update on what we’ve been up to. Jobs…
I’ve owned a ’93 Jeep Wrangler since I was 21. It was my second vehicle and a marked upgrade from the 1986 Ford Tempo that transported me through high school and a handful of years thereafter. The Tempo was great don’t get me wrong. I like puzzles. Which door doesn’t open from the inside? Which window can I not lower…
We often attach emotions to seasons and periods of time throughout the year. Consider the month of December. Many can look at this month, printed on a calendar, and feel a faint whisper of delight. Like a gentle breeze, passing briefly through their soul. Christmas, traditions, family, gifts. Decades of wonderful memories coalesce into a compressed moment of joy that…
Instinct and adrenaline are powerful things. Especially when it comes to emergency situations. Dad saves. Women lifting cars off of their children. Men leaping out of multistoried buildings to avoid vague questions from their wives about clothes and fatness. When your “spidey sense” is tingling and you have raw power coursing through your veins, there is nothing that can stop…
“You can eat from the trash as long as your school work is done!” The spring air has forced our windows open lately. The gentle breezes move through our house ushering in the scent of fresh nature and new beginnings. This air movement also carries voices from inside of the house to our sidewalk and beyond. And last week, if you…