Author: Jim Santos
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Divided We Fall
I was idly scrolling through FaceBook the other day when I saw a post with what struck me as an uniquely American brag. A young woman proudly stated that she had just spent about two hours in a Target store brazenly unmasked, and had not been asked to leave. She saw this as some kind…
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Oh My Darling Quarantine
Strange times we are living in. Many people, being forced to spend more time in their homes, are finding their lives completely disrupted. Some are responding better than others, and many couples are finding out things they may not have necessarily have wanted to know about their relationships. For my wife and I, perhaps the…
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With our Music, Life Would Be a Mistake
I don’t always title a blog post with a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche, but I make an exception in this case. I want to take a break from the Galápagos Islands book I’m working on to write about a show that we attended at the Tennessee Theater on Thursday, March 12, 2020. I bring it…
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Better Living Through Chemistry
I would like to start by thanking all of those readers who responded about my previous post ‘Tis the Season. As you may imagine it was not an easy decision to make public such a personal post on depression. But after hearing from so many people who have similar problems and concerns but have been afraid…
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‘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…
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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…
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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…
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Game of Thrones Game
If you never watched Game of Thrones or read any of the books, that is fine. I really don’t understand how some people think that gives them something to brag about, but there does seem to be an American tendency to applaud your own ignorance for some reason. More on that another time. Those of us who have be-spoiled…
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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…
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In a World …
Since I made the decision to resign as International Living’s Ecuador Coastal Correspondent back in March, I’ve been ramping up the attempts to find more freelance work. I’m still writing articles for IL’s magazines and website about places we have lived and visited – in fact, look for a Feature Article I co-authored due out in…
