Christmas is canceled That was the first thing I heard this morning when I got out of bed. It was meant as a joke, but it had far-reaching ramifications. The traditional family event (50-60...
Going home In a couple of hours I’ll be on a plane to see my parents. I feel safe just about everywhere I go, but home is the safest place I know. I knew...
continued from above The night my dad wrecked his car (he was sober, by the way), I had been sitting in my bedroom with my baseball glove in my hand. I had no plans...
Tornadoes and Bears I mentioned this back in October. I’ve never seen a bear. I’ve never seen a hurricane. And I’ve never seen a tornado. That makes me unhappy. But now…the twisters are stalking...
Free Time I didn’t win Powerball tonight. That means I have to go back to work in the morning. I would be more depressed about it (maybe somewhere along the lines of drinking too...
Um…howdy My absence is explainable, but quite uninteresting. Suffice it to say, I’ve been gone to Chicago and Columbia, SC. And suffice it say I’m on my way to Columbus, OH and Springfield, MO....
Southern Armageddon The South operates on a philosophy of perceived strength. It may not have won the so-called War of Northern Aggression, but it survived and still has a Confederate flag to show for...
Who has the power now, buddy? Gotta be careful here. I’ve heard of people losing their jobs for less. Nevertheless…a quick observation: There is a significant amount of satisfcation in walking into a bathroom...
The Cabin Sweats It’s a tightness…and not a good kind. It starts in the chest like panic attack and slips into the psyche like cheap booze. It’s a fever, a need to get out....
What doesn’t change I had a few minutes on this workday (you call it Thanksgiving) to ruminate on the working man’s holiday. In an attempt to find inspiration, I looked back at what I...
Confessions of a hooligan With seconds to go in a fairly meaningless game, the chant rose above the din. “They can’t arrest us all! They can’t arrest us all!” It was true and we...
The opposite of cranky I have a growth poking out from my left temple. When I woke up ths morning, I thought it was a serious problem. I almost called in sick to work...
Incommunicado Life had been like a well-paved one-way street for our hero. Each step he took was well-marked, a Twister board with footprints of the same color and direction. Educational choices were preordained. Career...
The Springfield Connection Someone I once knew called Springfield, Missouri “a suburb without a city.” Surrounded by farmland, teased by the Ozark Mountains, and built on holy limestone, Springfield is Hometown, USA. One of...
