LaughBox

I get to talk to some really cool people on this podcast and this week is no different.  Jim Wasserman is the guest and he's lived life in the trenches...with Middle School students.  I don't know how he did it (I didn't even like my own kids when they were middle schoolers).  We talk a little about that but also how he's found some peace and solitude living his third life.  I know you'll enjoy Jim as much as I did!

More on Jim...

Born of a Tennessee man and a proper English woman, Jim was born in a log castle as a citizen of the once, yet eternally, independent Republic of Texas.

Jim’s parents often took him to far away and exotic places, only to be disappointed when Jim managed to find his way back. Finally left on his own, Jim was raised by a travelling band of sloths, accounting for his belief that his appearance, dress, and temperament are “normal.” He called the jungle home, at least until he learned proper English and then correctly called jungle “jungle” and the place he lived in “home.”

Jim was “finding himself” (his parents’ phrase) during his college years till he graduated with a degree in psychology and religion (His senior thesis on southern US Jewish communities was docked points for being titled “Red-neck or Eth-neck?”). Discovering a gift for gab, Jim became a litigation attorney and then a teacher (claiming an expertise in history, government, economics, public speaking, and anything else where there is not a definite  right or wrong answer).

Jim met the love of his life through the disembodied, yet oh so personal, medium of the first internet dating sites (the magical land where everyone is tall, has an “athletic build,” and hair). Although wiser than Jim, Jiab still has no reply to his argument-winning line: “I’m obviously smarter than you; look whom each of us chose to marry.” Together, Jim and Jiab have found bliss in raising two boys that are the light of their lives, though aside from these two house cats, they also have two sons who seem to eat and sleep a lot.

Whether demonstrating his own original martial arts moves (such as “curl up in a fetal position and cry like a baby till they stop punching you”) or developing new excuses for losing tennis matches (“The net is higher on my side of the court”), Jim has led a life governed by a single creed, “Dignity is overrated.”

Connect with Jim on his blog:  http://yourthirdlife.com/