Current Events

Going to the middle east.

In 1991 I was a college student. My girlfriend at the time was worried about a possible draft, but I was not. There was a war brewing, but I was shamefully carefree. Watching the footage on TV it all seemed so far away, almost abstract. I had no emotional attachment to what I was seeing. Last week was different, but why? I am twelve years older. I am no longer a college student, and I work for a…
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Travel

Going home.

I haven’t decided if it is better to leave or to be left. Last Friday we were heading home to finish off our trip to New Orleans. I was sitting in our car with Cheryl and Beth, the engine running, everything packed in, mentally preparing to pull out of our parking spot in my sister’s building for one last time. It was a sad moment. Travel can be a bit of an ordeal, but it is a…
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Travel

Waxing enthusiasm, revisited.

He has left, and the disturbance has gone with him. You know a vacation is coming on soon when you find yourself sitting at your desk with your mind on vacation a week early. I’ve been thinking about how I’d like to do the drive and how many hours I’d like to get in the first day. I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to do when I get there and anticipating how much…
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Kitchen Sink

We interrupt this message.

The doctor’s office is normally a quiet place to write, but not today. Since I am unable to concentrate on anything else, lets talk about what is going on here. There is a gentleman sitting two seats down that is imploring everyone to pray. “We should pray for…” – the topics vary. That things will go back to the way they were twenty years ago … that terrorists…
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Current Events

Have fun storming Bagdad!

People disagree. You can’t always be right. Would you agree that those two statements are accurate? I should hope so. In that case, think about world events for a moment. In particular, I’m thinking of a certain armed conflict that seems inevitable and the worldwide disagreement over whether it should happen. I don’t even want to discuss wether we should or not. Instead, I want…
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Beth

Sharing our world with others.

It seems people don’t mind putting up with other people in their world, as long as they don’t get in the way. Nowhere was this more evident than at the ice skating rink last week. Now, I know what you’re thinking … ice skating rinks are not exactly a bastion of peace on earth and good will towards our fellow homo sapiens. Even still, Cheryl was taken aback by one…
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Kitchen Sink

Please say it isn’t true.

As is the custom at my office, the bomb always drops at the end of the day. In a way, I guess this is sound policy. People get a chance to digest the news at home, away from the office. This way, it’s old news when it is time to go back to work and be productive. Today, the bomb was dropped at approximately 3:30 p.m. The private firm that our office has contracted with for legal services has…
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Kitchen Sink

What the hell?

I am at work and I am sitting quietly in a training session slated to go all day. It is a painfully slow class, and I’m only twenty minutes in. A straggler strolls in carrying herself like she owns the State. She is in a really good mood, but she can’t seem to get a song out of her head. I know this because she is singing it out loud. I’m using every ounce of will I’ve got…
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Going for Broke

Speaking of that new bed…

We were supposed to take delivery on Friday. I was home well before I was supposed to, just to make sure I was there in plenty of time. I walked in the door and thought to myself, “I wonder if there is a message on the machine from the delivery service?” This would not be a story needing telling if there weren’t. Just before the timid voice of a person from the delivery service…
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