Category: Life Lessons
-
‘Tis the Season
By any rational criteria, I have a wonderful life. I’m married to a beautiful woman that I’ve only grown closer to over the last 10+ years. We have been fortunate enough to do a lot of travel and experience some wonderful places. We’ve hiked the Inca Trail to stand in Machu Picchu, and explored the Galápagos…
-
When Death Comes Calling
I’m no stranger to Death. I have had to deal with the Grim Reaper on all too many occasions. I watched my older brother drink and eat himself to death before the age of 35 when I was in my 20’s. I lost my first wife of 25 years to cancer. More recently, Rita lost…
-
Band Horror Stories – Auditions
I received a lot of emails after my post on the Queen movie and my reminisces on playing in local bands. Much to my surprise, people wanted more band stories. So here we go, by popular demand, a look back at one of the most dreaded events in any amateur musician’s life – that nerve-racking…
-
10 True Summers Long
Ten years ago today on May 3rd, 2009, my life changed. Not that I was aware of it at the time. In fact, I was not aware of much of anything. Mostly I was in a kind of an emotional limbo. My wife of 25 years had finally succumbed to a battle with breast cancer…
-
Winter Strawberries
Rita and I recently returned to our home in Salinas on the southern Pacific Coast of Ecuador after our longest time away in the last five years. Between taking care of some business in the States, attending the International Living Boot Camp Conference in Santa Fe, and enjoying Thanksgiving with family, we were away from…
-
For of Flying in Baños
There’s a moment of clarity, just before you begin, when you think calmly to yourself, “Why am I doing this?” Then the calm is shattered by sheer terror as you are flung out over the abyss. Now your brain is screaming “WHY AM I DOING THIS?!” This was my experience with the “Casa del Arbol”…
-
Locked in Cages
I am an American. I was born in Annapolis Maryland, one of the oldest cities in the nation. I’ve lived and worked in her small towns, her big cities, and some of her beautiful rural lands. We own property in America, pay taxes, and are registered voters. I did tech support in the US Senate,…
-
My 2nd 5th Anniversary
Today I celebrate my second fifth wedding anniversary, by which I mean the fifth year of my second marriage. It seems a good time to reflect on a few things, and I’ve been trying to sort out and identify my feelings about “the institution of marriage”. We hear a lot that the “institution” is threatened…
-
What is the Shape of Water Anyway?
I saw an interesting post on Facebook over the weekend. Someone asked if anyone had seen the movie “The Shape of Water” and liked it. OP apparently did not like it at all, and wanted anyone who did enjoy the movie to explain why they liked it. I almost commented – in fact, I did…
-
I Hope You Don’t Meme That!
Phone the neighbors, wake the kids, it is time for another Facebook rant! Today’s topic: the misuse of memes as proof of the further dumbing down of America by Facebook. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few decades, you have run across memes on the Internet. Technically, a meme can be…