The past is a perfect thing. Viktor Frankl thought so anyway. He talked about rescuing things into the past. “For as soon as we have used an opportunity and have actualized a potential meaning, we have done so once and for all. We have rescued it into the past…wherein nothing is irretrievably lost, but rather, […]

Most people just want to be left to do their thing. Which is what most people are doing, I think. Their thing. They aren’t thinking about how their thing effects your thing, usually. There are some nefarious instances but the average person isn’t out to get you. They are simply exercising their free will. Just […]

The mainstream message reminds us what’s not right in the world. It points out our failures. It accentuates our lesser moments. (Perhaps you’ve seen The Bachelor?) It can even shape our thinking by turning our focus to all that we seem to lack, particularly as individuals. For example, there’s an entire industry around weight loss. Which […]

My daughter says I’m particular about lighting. She says it’s because I’m a photographer. That definitely has something to do with it. Though photography is more of a hobby these days, Adeline’s right about the lighting thing. There’s a lighting arrangement for every mood. Which is typically low key for me, when I have a […]

I like my silverware drawer tidy. I like my drinking glass cabinet the same way. I prefer you didn’t touch my tie, mostly because of the natural oils on your skin. And it’s important to me that both the registration and inspection stickers on the windshield of my car are parallel to each other and […]

I have never found magicians interesting. The illusions aren’t appealing to me. And the hype seems empty. My curiosity isn’t stirred to learn how it’s done. I think because I know that it’s not real. So there must be some explanation for it. And if I knew that explanation I would realize it was slight […]

There’s a terrific scene in the Big Lebowski where Walter and the Dude are on their way to rendezvous with Bunny Lebowski’s kidnappers. The Dude has just been given a briefcase containing a $1 million cash ransom and a mobile telephone, circa 1991. He swings by Sobchak Security to pick up Walter Sobchak who is […]

I’m 18 and I’m using my friend Mike’s expired license to purchase beer. This is my first time. Mike isn’t here. I’m hanging out with some friends in South Buffalo. There’s this kid I know from going to punk rock shows and he lives in a house with his brother. I think they have a mom […]

Meredith has a new cookbook. In it is a picture of a woman mixing something in a sauce pan on a stove while holding an infant. This photo is opposite a recipe for bison chili. You see the back of the woman but the kid is staring at you over her shoulder. In the upper […]