About....

Whatever it is that brought you here, you are in good company. 

I'm Frank Walter and I'm old enough to know better. I’ve done stuff and learned stuff, and if I have any wisdom at all it was hard-earned, mostly by making things more difficult than necessary. I'll share the good bits to help lighten your load, but also the bad bits so you can avoid them (or commiserate if you've already been there). 

This blog has stories of success and failure, offers (maybe dubious) advice or commentary, and provides support or escape. Sometimes fictional characters who represent the different aspects of my personality or history will tell the story (to protect the innocent and add spice).

In short, The Stick is my take on what it's like to be a person doing their level best in this baffling, jacked up, beautiful world.

The Stick is any or all of:

• A walking stick for support along the road.
• A lantern stick, a way to find and a way to be found.
• Encouragement to stick together or stick with it.
• A way to measure progress, like “moving the sticks” in football.
• A yardstick, to measure how far we have come, and how far we have left to go.
• A talking stick; a way to give voice to different sides to understand the whole picture – even if the different sides exist within you.

The Stick is for anyone who feels alone or afraid, or who struggles to understand the world; who just wants to read a story with a little heart; or who needs refuge from the curated, AI-driven, algorithmic, infinite doom scroll to sit by the campfire in your mind and read a story about someone else's clumsy attempts to be a good human. 

So gather ‘round, and welcome to The Stick.