jeff shuck

It has been a month or so since I last posted. I’d love to say that I’ve been working on the Great American Novel, which I have not been doing, but I have been working on the Great American Company, so I think that counts for something. Work has been so filled with content — [...]

I haven’t written anything this week — what with the family and work there hasn’t been a great deal of time. In the far-and-far-between off-hours I’ve been either working on a lullaby for my niece or saving the world.
However, tonight I had an energy burst that was neither music nor game related, so I painted [...]

Well, after six years, I finally did it: I’m coffee-free.
Usually, I think that giving anything up, particularly something as wonderful as coffee, is just downright silly. Why mess with a good thing? And everyone needs a vice or two. So three cups of coffee in the morning, and three Diet Cokes in the afternoon [...]

Well, it has been a fairly crappy week — actually, a tough month. No, a tough year so far. Yes, tough and crappy. But I’ve found a good stress reliever. After using iTunes for several years to download songs, something popped yesterday. I started to rip every CD I own onto my computer.
I’d held off [...]

Warren J. Shuck, my grandfather, died in early February at age 97. He was an incredible man in the way that phrase should be used — he was honest, caring, intelligent. He had character.
I had the huge honor of speaking at his funeral.

Gramps, I found the note that you wrote to us. You had placed [...]

Today at work was one of those days. Wow.
I have a headset phone that has a five-hour battery. It recharges when it is not in use. I ran out of power today! Clearly, that is too much time on phone. What will all of that do to my hearing/brain/diminishing common sense, I wonder?
I now have [...]

In early 1999, shortly after the death of my mother, I was asked to write an article on leadership and change for “The Magazine of Sigma Chi.” In my grief it basically became a eulogy for my mom.
Today the grief is gone, although the pain remains — and the thoughts below still ring true for [...]

I drive through snow-covered streets to the lake. The air is empty and quiet, like Catholic Mass on a Wednesday morning.
I walk to the beach. Under my feet ice and snow make the sound of crumpling newspaper. As I approach, the call of thunder builds. Twenty-five knot winds from the Northeast push the water into [...]

I drive through snow-covered streets to the lake. The air is empty and quiet, like Catholic Mass on a Wednesday morning.
I walk to the beach. Under my feet ice and snow make the sound of crumpling newspaper. As I approach, the call of thunder builds. Twenty-five knot winds from the Northeast push the water into [...]

The following post is an article I wrote several years ago for “The Magazine of Sigma Chi.” The idea of trying to write an article about charity that wasn’t preachy or overly moralistic appealed to me, as did the chance to politely remind a group of society’s most fortunate members about their obligations.
I’ve always been [...]