A friend on Ello recently joked about writers running off the tracks, and after browsing my page, he wrote: “I would think, having surfed your page, you would be firmly on track. Completely, totally, one hundred percent, absolutely, positively, confirmed, obediently, full-fledged, and compliantly on track at all times.”

I do try! Growing older has helped to ground me in some ways but added other emotional complications to the mix. One thing I have learned to do over the years is try hard not to take other people down or hurt them when I do run off the tracks. It’s inevitable that our actions will affect others, sometimes in ways we can’t anticipate. But if we try to plant positive seeds and pull out the weeds as much as possible, we can get through this life without causing too much collateral damage to others.