In Praise of Beverly Cleary

read more…: In Praise of Beverly Cleary

Beverly Cleary created a world where goals were set, plans were made and achievements were accomplished. I lived in my own world, where boredom loomed around every corner and had to be destroyed by any means necessary, another symptom of wickedness.

America is NOT The Wasteland, Although I Can Be a Hollow Man

read more…: America is NOT The Wasteland, Although I Can Be a Hollow Man

Donald Trump has done a lot of dumb things, a lot of crass things, a lot of cruel things and a lot of dishonest things. Still, despite cries from my liberal friends, he is not a tyrant-in-training (although that may be his fantasy), nor is he wreaking vengeance against his enemies. I don’t think he’s been a good president so far, but he’s not evil. America is not the Wasteland. The universe just reminded me of that. Let me explain.

A free-association scream (900 or so words of id-driven rage at addiction poured onto the page without editing or re-reading)

read more…: A free-association scream (900 or so words of id-driven rage at addiction poured onto the page without editing or re-reading)

Readers know I’m not a God guy at all, not real interested in whether the Big Joker in the Sky is paying attention. Still, I pray 50 or 75 times a day, saying the same prayer over and over and over: “Thank you, God.” For today, I’m going to amend that prayer to “Thank you, God, and please help Larissa find a way to want to find a path to sobriety.”

The existential void of the 3-year-old boy (or a trip down memory lane under the vast indifference of heaven)

read more…: The existential void of the 3-year-old boy (or a trip down memory lane under the vast indifference of heaven)

In short, these first memories tend to be snippets, little pieces of pre-story that have randomly stuck to the brain like sawdust to sneakers. Once folks have answered my question and returned from their fugue states, they often ask me about my first memory. Here’s what I tell them.

The simple math of drugs, and figuring out how to exit your escape vehicle

read more…: The simple math of drugs, and figuring out how to exit your escape vehicle

Whenever I put any substance into my body, it was always simply a Keith Escape Vehicle (KEV).  Because I am who I am (and that’s all who I am), I can turn a lot of different things into KEVs – spending, sex, travel, work.  For today, for this minute at least, I’m trying to relax into being Keith instead of grabbing the keys and jumping into a KEV.

You Can’t Wring Your Hands with a Fist in the Air

read more…: You Can’t Wring Your Hands with a Fist in the Air

This was the tragedy, the kind of horror that usually leads to interviews with mothers and sisters of the victims, candlelit vigils and hand-wringing exclamations. Like a well-choreographed kabuki performance, the victims are remembered as saints, the families are cherished for the stiff upper lips and the incident slowly moves into the past like a sailboat disappearing into the fog.

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