A Crisis of Faith

A Crisis of Faith
Forgive me followers, for I have slipped. It’s been five months since my last blog post! I’ve been writing this particular post in fits and starts since July… So it might be a bit choppy. In the beginning I started writing Open Heart over 3½ years ago— first on my own website then on ChicagoNow after... Read more »
By Walter Michka,
December 21, 2015 at 3:23 pm • 

Guys Take a Stand to Pee Sitting Down!

Guys Take a Stand to Pee Sitting Down!
There’s a controversy swirling out there… It’s perhaps more polarizing than the vax or not to vax debate. It’s bigger than the fight over the confederate battle flag. It could even be more contentious than the Iran nuclear deal. This controversy is far-reaching, affecting nearly half the world’s population— from regular Joes on the street... Read more »
By Walter Michka,
July 23, 2015 at 11:30 pm • 

Positivity: Is Your Cup Half Empty or Half Full?

Positivity: Is Your Cup Half Empty or Half Full?
It may come as no surprise to some, but people think I’m a negative person. I don’t think I’m a negative person but others around me think I am. I’m shocked, I guess, that I could be so misunderstood. First of all, let me say it’s not easy to find positivity in 2015. There are... Read more »
By Walter Michka,
July 16, 2015 at 12:16 am • 
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Modern Technology: What’s Your Futz Factor?

Modern Technology: What’s Your Futz Factor?
What’s your Futz Factor? My Futz Factor is extremely low. A Futz Factor is how much a person is willing to futz with a thing, usually a piece of technology, computer software maybe, trying to fix it, before they just give up. Usually in a burst of anger and swear words. On a scale of... Read more »
By Walter Michka,
July 8, 2015 at 10:28 pm • 

The Serenity Prayer: Words to Live By?

The Serenity Prayer: Words to Live By?
You know that poem, sermon, meme, whatever that goes: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” It’s come to be called The Serenity Prayer and it’s usually attributed to a protestant theologian and minister named Reinhold Niebhr.... Read more »
By Walter Michka,
June 30, 2015 at 9:53 pm • 

Thinking of Dad on Father’s Day

Thinking of Dad on Father’s Day
Riding into the city on Metra last week, I overheard one side of an interesting and sort of sad conversation. On my end across the aisle a guy, a kid, really, barely in his early 20s— backwards baseball cap, baggy striped pants, green double-breasted uniform top— looked to be a busboy or a dishwasher, maybe... Read more »
By Walter Michka,
June 21, 2015 at 1:01 am • 
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Give Yourself a Break: Vacations Are Important

Give Yourself a Break: Vacations Are Important
My wife and I just got back from our first real vacation without the kids since we started having kids. We stayed in Milwaukee once a couple years ago: overnight, less than 24 hours I’m pretty sure, and that’s about it. Since we were traveling together, flying in the same plane, driving in the same... Read more »
By Walter Michka,
June 16, 2015 at 10:39 pm • 

Our Obsession with Beauty Takes an Ugly Turn

Our Obsession with Beauty Takes an Ugly Turn
A month or so ago, Michelle Keegan was voted 2015’s Sexiest Woman in the World by FHM magazine. Who is Michelle Keegan you (and a huge majority of that same world) may ask? Google says she’s a big soap opera star in England. Oh! THAT Michelle Keegan! It doesn’t matter if you know her or... Read more »
By Walter Michka,
June 8, 2015 at 6:03 pm • 

Hope for Sale: My First Writer’s Workshop, part 2

Hope for Sale: My First Writer’s Workshop, part 2
Second in a two-part story… (read part 1 here) The two and a half hour drive home from my first Writer’s Workshop in rush hour traffic a couple of Fridays ago gave me a lot of time to think. If I had any hope of ever becoming a novel writer before I entered that nondescript... Read more »
By Walter Michka,
May 29, 2015 at 9:34 pm • 
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Hope for Sale: My First Writer’s Workshop

Hope for Sale: My First Writer’s Workshop
First of a two-part story… Last Friday I drove over a hundred miles north to a Country Inn hotel outside Milwaukee to attend an all-day writer’s workshop. About forty or fifty would-be writers anxiously assembled in a generic meeting room— the kind with a drop ceiling and sliding divider wall. It was the Oak Room... Read more »
By Walter Michka,
May 22, 2015 at 9:55 pm •