11 hours agoMember-onlyDodging LandminesPreserving friendships? — Even as the words were coming out of my mouth, I realized how close I was to detonating something that couldn’t be un-detonated. But there they were. It should have been totally innocuous but somehow talking about Roger Waters has become yet another lightning rod. “Oh, yeah, the one that…Relationships3 min read
2 days agoMember-onlyIt’s Not a “Foreign” Language HereWhatever you’re speaking in NYC, chances are someone understands it…so watch it — I recently read one of those Why I Love NYC fluff pieces and was struck by this response: I can go all day and never hear or speak English To our visitors and residents from other cultures and countries who speak anything other than English, let this be your warning. …Culture4 min read
Published in The Partnered Pen·3 days agoMember-onlyWhen Eggs Cost Nearly $9And mayonnaise is fourteen! — It may be time to make my sincere apologies to the free-range everythings of this world and get ready to settle for factory-farm produced everythings. When my usual brand of free-range — but not organic — eggs wasn’t in its usual place, I picked up the organic ones. I was…Life3 min read
4 days agoMember-onlyWhat Were You Doing in 2011?I kissed gatekeepers goodbye and collaborated with my partner in life and art on this self-published book — 2011 was the last year any official gatekeepers noticed my work. I was nominated for inclusion in the annual Pushcart anthology that year (not for this book, btw). It might be different now but in those days the only way to find out if you made it into the anthology…Writing4 min read
Published in The Partnered Pen·5 days agoMember-onlyLetter to a Dead FriendThings are not improving…but you could have told us that — Hi Pete, I’d ask how you’re doing, but, well. You know. Anyway, you may not actually get this letter but it felt like the right time to send it. Robert S. passed away yesterday. That makes entirely too many of our S.M. family who are no longer around for fellowship…Relationships4 min read
Published in Counter Arts·5 days agoMember-onlyNot Summer. Not Not Summer.The calendar can say what it wants but this ain’t autumn. — According to the calendar and the time the sun remains within sight on this side of the planet, we have shifted from summer to autumn. And according to custom, by the day after the long Labor Day holiday weekend, we have already shifted. Except, the shift hasn’t really happened yet. …Photography3 min read
Sep 23Member-onlyUncle Sam Wants You PoorBut he’ll settle for dead — Allow me to lift your rock for a quick moment if you hadn’t yet heard this gem from our — ahem — representatives in Washington, D.C.: “By forgiving such a wide swath of loans for borrowers, you are removing any leverage the Department of Defense maintained as one of the…War2 min read
Published in The Partnered Pen·Sep 21Member-onlyWhose Golden Rule…Exactly?Maybe you don’t want what I want! (Weirdo) — I didn’t even think about it, I just reached over and clipped whoever it was for saying whatever it was they said (we’re talking decades ago, btw) and immediately apologized. “I’m so sorry! I really hate it when anyone does that to me. I don’t know what I was thinking…Relationships3 min read
Published in Weeds & Wildflowers·Sep 19Member-onlyMy Two CitiesBlack Rock City and New York CityTravel4 min read
Sep 17Member-onlyMY Queen Died in 1999And I’m still in mourning — It’s very sad and all. And by that, I mean that no one can escape all the carrying on about some 96-year-old British lady up and dying so the whole damned country (world) is losing its collective marbles. Sorry for your loss, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family. Show some decency, however, and provide…Life3 min read
