When I drive, hundreds of ideas course through my mind. I sometimes wish I could hear them recombobulated in the voice of a posh Englishman. It would be more entertaining than silently selecting, catching, and then holding the gems because I bet I miss a lot of great ones. My best writing occurs far from…
Category: Blog Posts
The Dog
I receive many notes about Ellie. “Does she like the new place?’“Is Ellie comfortable?”“What does Ellie think?” I can only answer those questions like any man with a dog; I don’t know. Dogs, including Ellie, are like side dishes to life. They are not appetizers but more like potatoes or noodles—always on the table. Don’t…
Bigfoot is Real—Jim Said So!
I’ve not seen Bigfoot, but that doesn’t mean I don’t occasionally look for him/her. It’s easier not to believe Bigfoot exists, of course. But you can’t deny that it’s fun to wonder and remain somewhat hopeful that the myth or legend is more than just that. It’s about as far as I go down the…
“Soup’s On!”
“Soup’s on,” my grandfather said from time to time. The tin, saltine can, shouted out from the center of the table with the word “premium” in big blue letters. I hear the slight woosh from a minor vacuum release created when Gramps pried the top off the rectangular canister and pulled from within a wax…
General Practitioner
The furnace’s whir and thunderous whomp sometimes wake me up, but not often. That’s the burner kicking in. I don’t have quick access to a thermometer giving me outside readings, but I know when it’s cold overnight from the number of whirs and whomps per hour. Yes, I wake up a few times regardless, but…
Does it really take a “Village?”
I’m not complaining; snow is part of the deal here on the Jagged Edge of America. My friends, some already living their “best life” in The Villages, have intermittently given me polite admonitions over my few years spent in the sixties—the age, not the decade. The claim is that I seem like a guy who…
Have Cake, Will Travel
Two hundred sixty miles for cake, but it was a really good cake. Discombobulated is my life, mostly shot from the hip on a handheld camera without film. It would be expensive to find someone to edit it to make it understandable to a normal person. So, I strive on, unedited, feeling secure that a…
Dodging the Stones, Throwing None
With an eye toward light adventure, our trek through life is better shod with something sturdy. Boots? Sure. Good solid toe protection is key. A stout, resilient coat, unimpeded by excessive outer clinging gadgetry that catches on the branches that drag against us and slow us down, is also imperative. But you also need to…
Happy Old Year
None of us can predict our future, but we already know what we’ve done up to this point. Do not discount the benefits of repairing previous damage. Sometimes, repairs are better—stronger— than the original bodywork.
A Few of My Favorite Things—Not
I struggle with all of it: traffic, pushy people, self-checkout, and the overwhelming permeating odor of needing more, faster, better, and more expensive that fills the air around me. What you don’t know about me is that I have a grouchy streak. It rears its ugly little head whenever I’m stuck in traffic or a…