Peter Vogt, Author at For Pete's Sake

About Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.

Entries by Peter Vogt

The Kids Are All Right — and Then Some

May 26, 2017/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Peter Vogt

Author’s note: I am not insane. I am well aware that, even here in northern Minnesota, spring has sprung. I wrote the following piece several months back, in the dead of winter. I’m posting it today, with the school year drawing to a merciful close, as a reminder — that the kids are much more […]

Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.

Kid Magic Is Easier to Tolerate When You Remember That It Runs in the Family — Everyone’s Family

May 10, 2017/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Peter Vogt

When my kids were younger they were fans of the Magic Treehouse series of books, which center on a young brother and sister, Jack and Annie, who stumble upon a treehouse that a) is filled with a library’s worth of its own books, and b) doubles as a fully equipped time-travel machine. You know — […]

Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.

I’ve Gone From Liberated to Debilitated, and My Urge to Be Rehabilitated Is Slowly Being Eliminated

February 16, 2017/2 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Peter Vogt

Do me, and yourself, a favor and print this piece to read it. Really. Print it off. Like the old days. And read it. Read read it, instead of simply scanning it. Take the time; put in the energy. Now vs. the never-arriving later. I’ve even made a handy link you can use to display […]

Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.

Relativity Unlocks Appreciation

February 7, 2017/2 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Peter Vogt

Just before Christmas, our family left the blustery cold of northern Minnesota on a three-day road trip to Cocoa Beach, Florida. The temperatures were in the teens — and worse — here at home, so we couldn’t wait to get to our destination and forecasted highs in the 70s and 80s. We were not disappointed. […]

Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.

There’s Something in the Water

January 20, 2017/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by Peter Vogt

I just turned the corner and arrived at one of my favorite writing spots. It’s one of the relatively few places here in Moorhead, Minnesota, where you can hang out by actual open water. Even if it is only a man-made lake/drainage area. I somehow overlooked something today, though. Major miscalculation. It’s been a hundred […]

Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.

Take the Spiced-Up Stories with a Grain of Salt — Then Savor Them for Their Flavorful Memories

September 29, 2016/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by Peter Vogt

On our way home from soccer practice the other night, my son Theo informed me that, contrary to my late father’s unassailable personal testimony, one cannot walk to school uphill in both directions. “If you go uphill when you’re walking to school, then you have to go downhill when you’re walking home from school,” Theo […]

Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.

The Full Days Are Nauseating, but They’re Filling, Too

September 21, 2016/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by Peter Vogt

I was in a holding (my breath) pattern at the grocery store checkout, buying chicken, green onions, broccoli, mushrooms, cilantro. I had just swiped my debit card to pay for it all, and it was one of those awkward moments when the transaction is taking just a liiitttle too long to go through. And I […]

Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.

Waiting Is Its Own Cancer

September 15, 2016/9 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Peter Vogt

I don’t really know what the worst part of cancer was for my late wife Lois. I never asked her, and I can only guess what her reality was. All I can come up with on my own is the ridiculously obvious: The fact that she died from the disease in 2012, following more than […]

Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.

It’s Becoming Visible to Me Now: The Mind Control Workouts Are for Life, Same as the Physical Workouts

July 11, 2016/1 Comment/in Uncategorized /by Peter Vogt

By 7:02 a.m. the other day, I was convinced that I am invisible. In fact, I was ready to go share my startling discovery with our new neighbor, who tells me she works from home for the United States Department of Defense (I didn’t realize our area was so dangerous). I could get a job […]

Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.

Thanks a Lot, Alzheimer’s — You Messed Me Up Too

May 24, 2016/4 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Peter Vogt

Cripes, Alzheimer’s. Are you ever satisfied? You finally killed my mom the other day. That I can take, oddly enough. People die, especially when they’re old, and my mom wasn’t immune. No one expected or demanded that she live forever. But did you have to go after me too? I always knew you specialized in […]

Peter Vogt

I’m a writer. An essayist, to be more exact. I tell stories here—true stories, from my own life, in hopes they will make a positive difference in yours.

I share laughs and tears, insights and observations, frustrations and realizations, relying all the while on the storytelling wisdom of Julia Cameron, author of The Right to Write.

It is a great paradox that the more personal, focused, and specific your writing becomes, the more universally it communicates.