Just when it seemed as if the New England Patriots would lose Super Bowl LI badly, the team demonstrated what preparation and belief can do, no matter the score. Tom Brady and the Pats can serve as inspiration for us all. Read how you can do your job like a Patriot.

Reading Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography reminded me why he’s a superstar: He loves connecting with people through clear, passionate writing. Writers could learn a thing or two from the Boss. Here’s how you can write like him.

For many, the presidential election of 2016 has been a dispiriting affair. They don’t like (or trust) Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. But there’s a way to exercise your franchise without holding your nose: Write-in your mom’s name for president. If undecided voters choose their moms, they’ll restore civility and integrity to an electoral process that sorely needs a mother’s touch. Read more.

I long bragged about eventually writing a novel — a can’t-miss blockbuster about an Irish rebel and American hero. I bragged so long that someone beat me to it. Read why you shouldn’t let someone else write your novel.

The Blizzard of ’78 seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime experience when I was seven years old, so as a blizzard approached in 2015, the memories flashed back so vividly, I felt like a child again. Read why.

U2 keeps rocking, but even if the Irish quartet’s new music hits or misses, this listener is in their corner. Tune in here.

Anybody can bake a Swedish apple pie. If I can do it, so can you. Find out how.

A decade after Johnny Cash’s death, the man in black seems alive as ever. Read about the singer of songs.

I had the honor of contributing to the Why Write Project, an initiative by a Nashua high school teacher to promote the importance of writing. Check it out.

He might sing silly love songs, but days after the Boston Marathon bombings, Neil Diamond’s corn-dog stage persona gave a wounded city the salve it needed. Cheesy times never felt so good.

Parenthood is all about sacrifice, even if it means putting aside a great book. Read how the magic I often found with written words came to life with an infant.

Joe Heaney was a poetic John Wayne. Here’s my take on one of New England’s best journalists.