No one can believe the house is gone.  Everyone ran into the street, even the neighbors.  Mom can’t stop crying.  Dad lies, saying, “It’s only stuff.”  He holds her.  She holds herself.

They’ll never find the gui/… Read full post »

I recently read an essay by Gore Vidal to one of my English 101 classes. The article, titled Drugs, was originally printed in the New York Times in 1970 and argued that drug prohibition was not only ineffective, but it was, in a word, stupid.  

With the… Read full post »

I know New York City rather well.  That is to say I can get around on the subway without having to check a map more than once.  I knowhow many lines there are (27), how far they stretch (722 miles) and at how many stations (468) they stop. … Read full post »

When I say my parents were Unicorns I'm not being metaphorical - my parents were actually Unicorns.  I have only memories of them; as you can imagine, they don't visit.   I remember their long faces when they had to give me away to a human family; how desperately sad they… Read full post »

Five 20-word love stories. (With special thanks to Abigail Thomas.)

             Dad always said, “I’m not taking care of her.”  He never knew I’d heard him every morning whispering, “Good dog.”

  &n… Read full post »

"How's this look," she asked, her face revealing an unintentionally obvious mix of hope and fear.

"Why is it printed on green paper?" 

"I thought it would make it stand out."

"Stand out from what?"  I was trying to sound professorial, but I feared I sounded… Read full post »

 "...having no remedy for evil but only for the image of it as they conceived it to be."

With this sentence Cormac McCarthy (in The Road) summarizes one of the great motivating factors in human history – Evil; it’s been blamed (by some) for causing every war, pestil… Read full post »

I was cajoled into creating a Facebook account.  I was hesitant, even resistant, for a number of reasons, not the least of which, as quickly confirmed after my first 24 hours, the time suckage that occurs while trying to find enough friends to not feel like a social pariah.

Once "friends"… Read full post »

After recently reading a short piece about the (alleged) separation of church and state in this country (yes, I'm smirking) I found myself reading a few court decisions.  I've had legalistic (though I’m not a lawyer) as well as philosophical (aren’t we all philosophe… Read full post »

I fully admit it - I have an issue with fat people.  That's not accurate; I have issues with fat people.  I don't like the way they look, they sometimes smell bad, I think of them as lazy, overly self indulgent, apathetic and, in a word, gross. 

I'm not a model,… Read full post »

It's well known where I work that I don't believe in God.  (I'd say about half the 100 or so people I encounter on a daily basis know.)  Among most of the people it's hardly an issue.  Among a handful it's become a regular topic of conversation in an enjoyable, bantery k… Read full post »

That Obama sure do talk fancy.   And boy, does it piss some people off.  Or maybe they're just scared.  But I love words.  The better your ability to use them, the more you understand them, the more you realize their true power, the more of my respect you have.… Read full post »

I recently received the best piece of analysis I've ever had.  A reviewer for a contest I entered said that I "Exhibit a strong, yet disciplined voice."  He added that my writing was presented in a "Highly enjoyable style," and that I had "The polish of a professional storytelle… Read full post »

Lately I’m constantly catching myself thinking of money, not realizing or able to remember how long I’ve been at it, as if I’ve walked into the middle of a rambling conversation with no idea how it started or where it will end.

For all I know about the generally accepted… Read full post »

I had a job interview yesterday.  I wore my most flattering shirt, my coolest pants, the new belt I received for Christmas and the most sincere expressions I could muster.  I presented him with my resume (it’s not bragging to say that I’m over qualified) and a glowing letter of… Read full post »

I ate dinner tonight in a restaurant I used to bartend and manage.  I’d worked there for three and a half years and left under terms that were less than ideal.  I was in the neighborhood and a friend of mine was working, so I felt compelled (probably too strong a… Read full post »

I went into work today at noon because I was told the new owners, or at least one of the new managers, would be there from twelve until two in the afternoon.  12:30 and no one was there.  1:00 and no one was there.  1:45 and the GM for the… Read full post »

I don't believe in karma; assholes all too often get what they want, good people suffer every day, shit happens.  And speaking of shit happening, I lost my job today (after bitching about having to work New Year's Eve).  It wasn't my fault.  I didn't get fired or quit.  I… Read full post »

I did something last night I've done too many times in the past.  I worked.  I spent New Year's Eve, yet again, waiting on other people.  Sure, I made some money, and sure I made some people happy (or at least drunk), but at midnight, while other intoxicants, uh, I… Read full post »