Family and Friends

Home alone: day one

This is a warning to all friends, family, acquaintances, folks who see me on the street and swear I’m their cousin Bill from Wisconsin, and strangers: This could be the worst video you see on the internets all day. My self-esteem isn’t so low I think I’ll win the race to the bottom for long, with the volume of “stuff” uploaded daily. In fact, I may not be in the lead…
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Going for Broke

Closing the book

I keep records. They’re not the vinyl kind. Those I might be able to sell on eBay. Oh, if only I had that Michael Jackson album I got as a gift when I was a kid. It would probably be in mint condition – possibly never touched by a needle. No, these are the boring kind of records – not that Michael Jackson was a… No, I just can’t do it. It’s just too easy.
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Kitchen Sink

Oh Canada!

I’m ashamed to admit I’m not sure if there’s customarily a comma in there, but I specifically left it comma free in this case. Our neighbors north of the border have a birthday today. As my wife’s family might say, it’s Fête du Canada – Canada Day. And I must say Canada, you hardly look a day over 140! In the back rooms of Creationist Theory offices, it’s…
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Wellbeing

All this time

A few months ago I reached a relatively low point in my life. I wasn’t dying, starving, lonely, unemployed, or bankrupt so I use the word low lightly. I visited my psychiatrist six weeks ago. (I’m not ashamed to admit it, I have one of those.) After the last few years chatting with me, even she was a little concerned by my appearance. My sleep situation was worse than ever. I was…
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Family and FriendsWellbeing

Life and cream soda

My Lightning lost game seven to the team of my youth. I’d like to introduce Chara’s long stick to his large intestine as much as the next Lightning fan, because Florida is my home now. When I say I’m going home, I’m always referring to Dunedin, not Boston or Billerica. It took a long time for this place to become home. We moved from a neighborhood of young families and…
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Family and Friends

Plans change

Seventeen years ago today, on another Saturday afternoon, Cheryl and I got married. Unfortunately, I got sick the night after our wedding and we spent our honeymoon in the ER. I spent it doing unmentionable things with the contents of my stomach. Today, all these years later, we spent the day in a familiar spot – a hospital – this time with Adam as he had his ailing appendix…
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Family and Friends

My boy

Adam still likes stuffed animals. We thought he might outgrow this “faze” by the time he started kindergarten. He hasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, this is not something that disturbs me in any way. In fact, it’s just the opposite. It reflects his personality – a sweet, sensitive kid. Often he’ll notice I’m not feeling too well, and without a word…
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Kitchen Sink

Words make the soul feel good

I spend a lot of time writing about depression, cancer, sleep disorders, and generally unpleasant stuff. Today I’m writing about a letter my boss received a little while ago. I was the subject. In my line of work, or just about any line of work I suppose, a letter to your boss is usually not good. Letter writers tend to be motivated by anger, or some negative emotion, probably because it’s…
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Wellbeing

Vindication

It’s not the kind of vindication I wanted. Some of us go through life deluding ourselves that our experiences are wholly unique. We experience an accident or fall victim to illness and we believe we are alone. We are not alone, but we don’t know it. Maybe it’s because we’re unique among our peers, where our physical and mental injuries are concerned. The internet makes the world a little…
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