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…
Category: Home Posts
Scraping Our Way Through Winter
“It’s plowable,” was overheard as I sat near the counter of my breakfast spot. “Yeah, it is,” I thought to myself as I waited for scrambled & bacon; I’ve cut back on toast but nibbled the edges before Ellie got the remainder after I returned home. I skip homefries now, too. I love them like…
“Unhappiness Has No Permanent Address”
“Not everyone is having bacon with their breakfast this morning.” My Dad said that to me once; we were having bacon. The Old Man was not trying to be philosophical; he was more whimsical with a side of wisdom—and bacon. It was his version of “The grass is not always greener, but ours is today,”…
Breakfast in America
The late start and the discombobulated manner in which we turned back time put me in the woods far too late in the day to complete the chores before darkness threatened to shut out my lights. The sun’s angle filters the light through the remaining leaves, casting a pleasant yellowish hue over even the gloomiest…
It’s All Greek to Me
“Timmy, how have you been? I haven’t seen you for a long time. How is retirement?” “Man, it’s good to see you, too,” I replied. And I meant it. He left the sandwich station, wiping his hands on a towel before we shook hands, but pointed out the space to one of his people, indicating…
Cheap Grills for Cheap Thrills
I finally had to pull out the waterline and drain the cabin. This time of year, I stay in tune with the ten-day forecast. My belief that I could make it to November with hot indoor showers was shattered when I saw the trend toward below-freezing morning temperatures. My limit on downside trends is twenty-five…
I’m Doing Fine Now—without you, Baby
You can imagine how music impacts me as an old (and former) radio guy. I have some friends who need no music; they don’t desire to take a drive or give themselves time to stop and take pictures of the clouds when they align themselves in unique ways. That sums up why solo road trips…
Son of a Preacher Man
Being the son of a preacher man tops my list of things to be proud of. In my sixty years on Earth, my experience with organized and unorganized worship differs from that in televised megachurches, big-money donors, and twenty-thousand-seat auditoriums. It’s all foreign to me, and I keep it that way by choice. I spent…
I’ll Always Be Andy
“What others think of us only matters if it’s more positive than we believe ourselves to be.” TC-2024 I’d never of heard him, but I was Andy Etchebarren for a while. I was seven or eight, and Andy Etchebarren never heard of me either. No one in the major leagues knew who I was—at least,…
“72 and 42—Musings for a Saturday Morning”
Contemplative and reflective, I let my mind slip into neutral even though the motorized conveyance’s gear selector was in the drive position. I was driving in a cocktail of weather perfection, stirred, not shaken—but just my soul, which incidentally had a BAC of .000, not counting the possibility that my breakfast orange juice was teetering…