It took a very, very long time for me to appreciate Chinese food. At least to the point where I can go into a Chinese restaurant and order something without worry. That initial distrust of Chinese food came thanks to my stepfather. I shall explain. At one point in time, mostly between 1971 and 1973,…
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The Vicious Cycle
On March 22nd, a grocery store in Colorado began the day with shoppers purchasing their home goods. By the end of the day, their worst fears came true. A stranger arrived in the store with an AR-15 assault rifle and started shooting the customers. He killed ten people, including a police officer. And he almost…
Read MoreGiving thanks, COVID-19 edition.
In another week, I’ll receive my second Pfizer vaccine, and after that, I’ll feel more comfortable about going out and taking lots of photographs and the like. But for the past year, COVID-19 has been trapped on my psyche, essentially commandeering my life. Of course it has. I don’t want to catch COVID-19. And I…
Read MoreTen break-up lines men never want to hear
Several years ago, after many attempts of trying and trying and trying again to find that right person after my 2011 divorce, I closed my online dating account and deleted my profile from it. There was no reason to continue participating. I was totally convinced that online dating services only existed to raise my hopes…
Read MoreA Chestnut Prison story, how 1978 reflects 2020.
Long-time readers of my blog will recall my original post about The Chestnut Prison. From July to November of 1978, because I could not live with my emotionally abusive and toxic parents – my mother and stepfather – I chose to move to Abington, Massachusetts, and live with my father and his wife (and his…
Read MoreThe Flight Pins
Every year, around the first week of September, I look for the flight pins. They’re somewhere. But I can’t immediately find them. Eventually, by September 8th, I find them. Both safe. Both ready to wear. One pin is an old United Airlines souvenir “junior pilot” pin. The other is a gold-colored American Airlines “junior stewardess”…
Read More(25×2) + 7…
Hello, 57. There were times when I thought you and I wouldn’t meet. You know what looks good when paired with a 57? This does. You know what else looks good with a big 57 on it? This guy when he’s throwing a no-hitter. And you know what else looks good when it’s paired with…
Read MoreOne inch.
It’s 5:00 in the evening, and I’m on my way home from downtown. Day job is done. I leave the office building through the rear entrance, so that I can walk down to the parking garage and get my car. To leave the back of my building, I have to cross a very narrow street. …
Read MoreDonald Trump, this is your America
I’ve been self-isolated in my home for the past three months, avoiding a malevolent, unstoppable virus that can destroy my lungs in days. I watch on the news as our cities are being destroyed, while police and protestors fight each other with rocks and tear gas and rubber bullets and AR-15’s. I watch as 40…
Read MoreHana Kimura and the pandemic of cyberbullying
Maybe you saw professional wrestler Hana Kimura in one of the Japanese puroresu shows in the past couple of years. Perhaps you saw her in the recent Ring of Honor title tournament. Or watched her in her many matches with the Stardom promotion. How good was she? Check out this move. It hurts just LOOKING…
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