Low level anxiety/worry sucks. Everyone worries from time to time. They say you can feel it in your gut, but I’m not sure that’s where it resides – at least not entirely. There is a sinking feeling, maybe in the gut, but there’s also a nagging at the back and front of the head. I…
Hooked and Swagger
I’m not one to spend much money on a lot of “things” for myself. I will spend on experiences – meals, drinks, travel, shows, music, books. For my birthday I treated myself to some Memphis BBQ and I bought the new Glass Animals album, Dreamland. I had heard one or two of the songs on…
The Family on the Bridge: A Moment
In the not so early morning just before the summer heat really kicked in, three kids and their dad rode their bikes down the incline part of the long pedestrian bridge that crosses the Mississippi River connecting Memphis and Arkansas. The first kid, the youngest, was all flash and wild determination. His 8 year old…
Forty-Six
Everyday at the end of the morning announcements in elementary school they played “The Birthday Song” by the Beatles and announced the birthdays for the day. For a brief moment, if your name was announced, you felt like a mini-celebrity. Or so I imagine. The shy kids blushed, the charming smirked, the clowns and confident…
This and That, but Mostly This
I started off this morning writing a blog post about unconditional love. I’ve been talking with a friend – a woman I dated a few years back. In the course of our conversation she asked would I be able to trust my ex-fiancee again, would I be able to have her back in my life?…
The House on N. Zinns Mill Road
My grandparents on my mother’s side, Nanna and Pappy, lived on a quiet road in Lebanon, PA (technically Quentin). They lived in what I can only describe as an old farm house surrounded by big trees and the rolling hills of the Fairview golf course. There was a big red barn on the property where…
Transience
There’s a new family hanging around downtown. They have that transient look about them – a little free range and rough worn. They’re a young family, maybe in their early to mid-twenties. She has blond hair with streaks of green. He carries the big overstuffed backpack and wears camouflage pants. He looks ex-military with a…
Nothing to See Here 8-6-20
I’ve heard this type of weather, mid 80s and no humidity, is rare for Memphis in August. I love it, but it also makes me feel even worse about not taking full advantage of it. I get outside, but I feel like I should get even more outside – as if that’s a thing. Gorgeous…
Remembering Paris and Other Engagements
One year ago today my sweet little cat, Paris, died. I sat with her in her dying moments. It was an awful night. She’s been on my mind on and off throughout the day. She was a pain in the ass, bossy when she wanted to be fed, petulant at times, but also as friendly…
Working Different Angles
Sometimes the colors are even better after the sun has gone down. Sunday night I went for a run with one of my friends and then we grabbed a bite and a drink at an outdoor restaurant/bar, Loflin Yard. We made our way over to the river to catch the last light of day, and…
Rita, or How I Learned Domesticity
She couldn’t have stood much more than 5’2” tall. She wore thick, oversized glasses and had dark, black, short hair. I assumed that years later, in her old age, she would look like a heavier version of Sophia from Golden Girls – the fiery, speak-her-mind, no nonsense matriarch who both epitomized, and was a caricature…
Finding Time to Play
It’s 7am here in Memphis and surprisingly cool. According to weather underground it’s 73 degrees and feels like 73 degrees. It’s overcast – just a wall of gray. The forecasts have been way off the last few days. The promised torrential rains and floods never happened. Well, we got rain overnight a couple of times,…