“Beadrel with a barn.” That’s what the note on my phone from 3:06am says. It’s possible it was supposed to say, “Beadrel in a barn.” This is what my wife shouted as she walked up the stairs to find that I was taking a shower but had left the bathroom door open. “There’s a Beadrel…
Duck Season, Wabbit Season, Flu Season
She was a redhead. Most of them are. She was flirting with me and a guy who looked like Ronald Weasley from Harry Potter (also a redhead). He seemed to have the upper hand in gaining her favor. She said I’d have to show her that I was serious about us if we were ever…
Hell in a Handbasket
In addition to feeling sick (yesterday morning’s sleepiness may have been the onset of something), I’m experiencing that mild sense of trepidation that I feel when I think about world events – trepidation and powerlessness. I don’t know how to move forward in a post-truth world. Yesterday was January 6. It should be a day…
A Sleepy Monday Morning
I awoke from a dream to the low bellow of a passing ship sounding its foghorn. While only connected by that temporal moment (the ship and the dream) – the passing of each seemed heavy with metaphor. I couldn’t see the ship nor the fog, and I couldn’t remember any of the dream’s details. Soon…
Dating Sunday
Today, the first Sunday after New Years, has been dubbed by the dating industry “Dating Sunday.” It’s when the various online dating platforms see a surge in sign ups and subscriptions. I’d be lying if I said I’m impervious to the hint of optimism that comes at this time of year and carries with it…
Sticking to It
Every morning of this new year, I’ve tried to write… or I wrote, or I am writing. It’s not always what I want to write, and the effort is usually short-lived. On Thursday, I had too much narrative in me in the morning to distill my thinking and words into images or something more poetic….
Twenty Twenty-Five
It’s Wednesday. New Year’s Day. The morning sky is complicated with clouds. Sunlight cracks through the marbled gray. It’s not quite 9am. It’ll be later than that when I’m done writing this. I’ve already started a pork roast with sauerkraut in the crockpot. Later I’ll make mashed potatoes. I’ve had my breakfast: waffles, eggs, bacon….
Jack Handy Celebrates the Holiday Season with a Renewed Sense of Openness and Optimism (Deep Thoughts)
I spent the better part of a rainy Sunday morning writing. I had just returned (the night before) from a brief trip to the east coast to visit friends and family for the holidays. In my musings and in my head, I was still caught somewhere between reverie for the past and optimism for the…
The Combination
10-16-24. 10-16-24. Wait maybe it’s 15. 10-15-24. I woke with those numbers in my head – repeating the sequence over and over. I could see the combination lock – standard Stanly. Silver. Black dial. White numbers. Little hash marks. right 10, left 16, right 24. I made my coffee. One scoop. Two scoops. 10-16-24. Three…
Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow
My McGriddle breakfast with a large coffee and medium orange juice cost under $10. It felt like a steal compared to San Francisco prices… though I haven’t had McDonald’s in years – maybe it’s just as cheap out there. It’s early yet. It’s dark and wet – and warmer than I was expecting. I’m in…
‘Tis the Season
It’s cold in Pennsylvania. On Monday, I took the red-eye. As the plane landed, I was struck by how flat and brown the landscape was. I arrived on the morning of Christmas Eve to snow and ice. I’m spending a few days with friends and family. This time of year always feels a little deeper…
Why Bother…?
The small, oscillating space heater makes a grinding sound when it changes direction. It’s chilly and dark. 6am and I’m bogged down with a case of the “why bothers?” The why bothers make it difficult to write. Daily practice, which I have forsaken, tends to keep the why bothers at bay. Heavily afflicted, as I…