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On the Brink of Monumental Change
I have always been fascinated with that split second in time when one’s life becomes completely different. Everyone has experienced this. The death or birth of a loved one. A job offer that changes your career path and/or drastically improves your financial situation. A medical diagnosis. An epiphany. A marriage proposal, a divorce request, an…
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Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.
I used to make it a point to stay informed about current events. I read newspapers, magazines, and watched the news. Then as finances got tighter and life became more hectic, I dropped my subscriptions. And at some point, probably during my billionth move in a two year period, I left my television sitting on…
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Shocked
I heard this story once about a guy on a subway, stuck in a car with a man and his five obnoxious kids. The father sat there and did nothing as these kids ran around jumping on things and shouting and just generally making a nuisance out of themselves. Finally the guy couldn’t hide his…
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Self-Destruction
Philip Seymour Hoffman is the latest in a long line of high-profile cases of self-destruction. He was found dead on his bathroom floor with the hypodermic needle still sticking in his arm. What an undignified way to go for such an incredible talent. Things like this really piss me off. Entirely preventable, deaths like these…
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Yes, it’s the Anniversary of 9/11. Can we Please Talk About Something Else?
My mother once wrote me a letter dated December 7th and below the date she wrote “I remember Pearl Harbor.” And it is important to remember those tragic moments in history so that we may learn from them, heal together, and never repeat them. I get that. But. I strongly suspect that I will dread…
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The Shortest News Cycle in the History of the World
On April 24th of this year a factory collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing more than 1,000 people who were just desperately trying to make a living of about $1.50 a day. They worked obscenely long hours for this money in an overcrowded building with no air conditioning, outdated and dangerous equipment and unhealthy drinking water.…
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Don’t Get Your Knickers in a Twist
Is it just me, or is everyone experiencing a spate of mounting hysteria? I know the economy is bad, and there are wars and abuses and crime and tragedy. I know that there are plenty of causes and issues that need to be addressed. The four horses of the apocalypse are being kept quite busy,…
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Tragedy Between the Lines
When you work on a drawbridge, you’re sometimes a silent witness to some really tragic events. No one tells you that when you take the job. On the bigger bridges you’ll get jumpers. Occasionally one will survive and 100 percent of those will say they regretted their action the second they jumped, which says a…
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Remembering Another Connecticut Tragedy
On July 6, 1944, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to town in Hartford, Connecticut. This was a very special treat for people who had been suffering the deprivations of World War II, and it brought with it a great deal of excitement and anticipation. In fact, 7,000 people came from all…