Life
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A Myth Understanding
A myth is a way of making sense in a senseless world. Myths are narrative patterns that give significance to our existence. Rollo May As many of my readers know, I am an avid biker — as in bicycles. With the exception of the rare rainy day cancellation, I ride from the spring thaw to… Continue reading
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July Meditations, Reflections, Travelogue, and Scrapbook
My life, I realize suddenly, is July. Childhood is June, and old age is August, but here it is, July, and my life, this year, is July inside of July. Rick Bass July is very important to me. First and foremost, it is the month I was born. It’s hard to imagine what Mom endured… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Redefining Productivity
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/07/06/redefining-productivity/ Pip: What does it mean to have a productive day when nobody’s keeping score anymore? That question turns out to be a lot harder than it sounds. Mara: Andrew Prokop takes it on directly in this episode — we’re looking at what productivity actually means once… Continue reading
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Redefining Productivity
You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful. Marie Curie During… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: The Burden We Call Love
Note: The underlying article can be found at https://ajprokop.com/2026/06/29/the-burden-we-call-love/ Pip: There’s a phrase most of us have said at least once — “I don’t want to be a burden” — delivered with the quiet confidence of someone who has never actually thought it through. Mara: Andrew Prokop has been thinking it through. Today we’re covering… Continue reading
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The Burden We Call Love
The burden which is well borne becomes light. Ovid At a recent gathering with a few male friends, our freewheeling conversation turned towards aging and caring for those who are no longer able to look after themselves. As is common, and somewhat expected with a group of white Americans, someone almost immediately said, “I don’t… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Where do the Children Play
Note: The underlying article can be found at Where do the Children Play. Pip: There’s a site called Can You Hear Me Now, which is either a meditation on human connection or a very long complaint about cell service — and today, Andrew Prokop makes the case that it’s definitely the former. Mara: Andrew Prokop’s latest… Continue reading
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Where do the Children Play
It is right that he too should have his little chronicle, his memories, his reason, and be able to recognize the good in the bad, the bad in the worst, and so grow gently old down all the unchanging days, and die one day like any other day, only shorter. Samuel Beckett As a grandfather… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Free Range Retirement
Note: The underlying article can be found at Free Range Retirement. Pip: There’s a quote that opens the post we’re covering today: “The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.” Which, honestly, sounds less like a warning and more like a sales pitch. Mara: Andrew Prokop is two years into retirement… Continue reading
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Free Range Retirement
The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off. Abe Lemons I love a good coming of age story. It doesn’t matter if it comes in the form of a movie, book, or song. I love thinking about the transition from one way of living to something completely different. In many ways,… Continue reading
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Podcast Episode: Get Off My Lawn — The AI Edition
Note: The underlying article can be found at Get Off My Lawn — The AI Edition. Pip: Can You Hear Me Now, where today’s episode asks the question every developer over forty has been quietly screaming into their IDE: what exactly are we trading away? Mara: Andrew Prokop makes that case directly — covering AI… Continue reading
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Death Cafe
The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins? Edgar Allan Poe Last Wednesday, my church hosted a death cafe. For the uninformed, a death cafe is a gathering of people who want to talk about death. There is… Continue reading
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Uncluttering
Amidst one’s daily clutter, one doesn’t usually reflect on the splendor of being free because – naturally – one has to get on with the business of living. Upamanyu Chatterjee Linda and I moved into our three story Victorian house (or barn as I often call it) in the winter of 1998. I remember it… Continue reading
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Healthy Sexuality
Sexuality is one of the ways that we become enlightened, actually, because it leads us to self-knowledge. Alice Walker Note: I tried to not use the word “sexuality” in the title of this article, but the alternates were either too clunky or sounded as if I was trying too hard to sound clever. “Life is… Continue reading
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As Time Goes By
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages. William Shakespeare I recently stumbled upon a website of world events throughout time. By poking around the years, I was able… Continue reading
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Everything is Everything
In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on. Robert Frost 40-plus years ago one of my dearest friends spent three years in prison. For the sake of his privacy, I will call him Greg. I didn’t know Greg back then and he tells me that he was not… Continue reading
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It’s Your Story, Keep it Real
Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. John Lennon Every Wednesday at 10:00, I gather with 10 to 15 similarly aged men for conversation and fellowship. We often start our meeting with the big news of the day, but it doesn’t take much to shift into subjects more personal and relevant… Continue reading
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Rising to the Level of Love
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. Tao Tzu I recently finished reading Luis Alberto Urrea’s The House of Broken Angels. Like most books I read these days, I found it in one of the many Little Free Libraries scattered around my neighborhood. Thankfully, I live among… Continue reading
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On Death and Loss
The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of those depths. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross After a break for the holidays, I am back to my Coming of Age journey. So much has happened since the pause. Most importantly, ICE… Continue reading
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Unraveling the Knots
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring. Roger Hornsby A couple weeks ago, I wrote of learning how to ice skate after decades of unrequited love. It was a feel good story about overcoming hesitations… Continue reading
Can You Hear Me Now 