I needed to brush up on what the rules and etiquette were during Creole / Jazz funerals as well as All Saints Day. You’d think I’d had learned them already, having a BA in Religion. But, sadly, the education behind my BA in Religion wasn’t allowed to cross the street and had to come home […]
Book of Blues Prequel
Cole Porter. Primer page of facts.
“Good authors, too, who once knew better words now only use four-letter words writing prose.” Cole Porter cranked out a lot of content in his time. Hell, in any time I thought Søren Kierkegaard cranked out a lot of content without the use of a word processor of any kind in his short time. Cole […]
“She turned me on to Back Porch Pickers, Jackson Pollock, and gin”
Growing up, I wouldn’t have heard this song. I would have turned my nose up and the volume down. I lived on a US 30 border town, drawn south by my state and pulled north by my city. I tended to avoid southernism. Why would you do such a thing? Because when the best friends […]
Write a letter to the reader of a novel you haven’t written yet
While holiday shopping at Urban Outfitters, Katie found a book titled 642 Things to Write About by the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto. She thought it would be a great idea if the two of us started going through this book, picking topics on which to write. Katie writes with pen and paper. I write with […]
Reply to friends about gun control post-Newtown: Not an A/B problem.
A couple dear friends were writing about the need to either arm our teachers or use a parental / volunteer quasi-militia to defend our kids during school. After I pointed out the redundancies, they asked me to expound. Below is my response. I was going to put it on three spots on Facebook. But instead […]
Things I learned atop a mountain in Alamogordo, NM (AKA “Happy Thanksgiving” – 2012).
As I’ve probably stated on this blog before, my Senior year at Denom U was when I finally had my first emotional break down. I lost the girl of my dreams. I knew I couldn’t go to seminary. I went from direction, motivation, and purpose to debt, days that would never end, a room without […]
Holdin’ on While Goin’ Down the Rabbit Hole
One of the hardest things I grapple with when dealing with them Books of Blues is the fine line between moving forward & holding on. How can one go down the rabbit hole when they’re still holding on? Where was the line? Was there a line? Can you do both? Or is it an Either / […]
The time we 6-ironed my lucky charm goodbye before starting our shift
Then I jogged up front and pulled a Smokey Robinson for the next few hours. I still text her on her birthday. If you know my phone number, you know what day that is. Update 2019-01-03: Not anymore. A few years ago I texted. She didn’t reply. Then again, I switched phones and didn’t have […]
Lead To a Quiet Alley Cafe This Evening
There wasn’t a part of my morning that wasn’t bombarded by a part of my professional life. The bombs came through email, out from twitter, along from Facebook, and standing along my my desk – all in multiple forms. The phone even rang. That’s never good. I had to cajole, negotiate, insist, persist, pistol whip, […]
Legacy or Longevity? Still Undecided
Ever since oldold man Finn woke up sick after our gulf-to-ocean-and-back road trip, I’ve been consumed by the question: “Legacy or Longevity?” In a couple hours, I’m going to go back into Book of Blues. I’m finally in uncharted territories. I know where’s it’s going. I know how it’s gonna end. But I don’t know […]