Kids and Adults and Itchy Dogs, Oh My!

It’s been an interesting couple weeks. Interesting as in sometimes not so great and sometimes just it is what it is. A couple weekends ago my good friend and nearly quarter century work pal had a get-together at his place. It was a celebration of the fact that he is officially cancer-free. He spent January […]

What’s a Tubi?

I always assumed that Tubi was just an awful streaming channel that hosted Jim Varney “Ernest” movies, TV shows that were cancelled after one season(I’m looking at you, ‘Enis’), and horror films best left to $2.00 ‘used’ movies at now defunct video rental shops and that bin that sat right by the checkout lanes in […]

These Are Things I Made Because I Like To Make Things

I think we’re all born with the inherent desire to make things. Some parents would say messes might be the first true urge we have to make, but I think that’s a different sort of creation that follows us into adulthood for very different reasons. When I say make things I’m referring to the creative […]

Middle-Aged Blues, Vacation, Cool Weather

This past Friday was Senior Night at the high school football game. Our son is part of the drum line in the marching band, as well as being a senior. It was our duty/honor to walk with him on the track as the announcer said his name, mentioned his intentions on furthering his education next […]

“Life Can Be So Fair, Let It Go On And on…”

It started on some random Saturday night in December of 2004 watching Austin City Limits. Some band I’d never heard of called Spoon was on the stage playing songs I’d never heard. The band looked cool; swagger for miles and they seemed to know how to use the stage to their advantage. But as cool […]

First Mow Of The Season, Missing My Oldest, More Middle-Aged Pain

This past weekend was the official first mow of the summer season 2021. Honestly, I should have officially mowed about two weeks ago but just hadn’t gotten around to it. I climbed the roof, blew the pine needles off, as well as cleaned all the gutters. My new roof looks new once again. Then it […]

19th Nervous Breakdown(Going On 20)

It was a weird week. Hell, it’s been a weird last few months if I’m being honest with myself. The pandemic uncovered a lot of latent anxiety in me that I didn’t know how close to the surface it actually was. Surprising moments of panic and worry that would hang out for a couple days. […]

“trapped in the amber of the moment”

First day of school 2020. We’ve all been pretty much locked down since March of this year. College and high school spring breaks turned into extended breaks turned into indefinite isolation which morphed into 2019-2020 school year ends in your living room. Thanks, and God bless. It was not what we or anyone else had […]

Ghost of a Dog

Out of the blue yesterday I thought about a dog named Helmut. This wasn’t some random dog name, or some random dog. Helmut was our dog from 1999 to 2009. We’d brought Helmut into our home in August of 1999, two years after my wife and I gotten our very first dog Dieter. Dieter was […]

A Little Night Music

I never listened to music when I went to bed as a kid. I don’t remember wearing headphones with tunes blasting into my ears as I floated off to dream land. I don’t even recall having a music box playing lullabies as a little one, either. What I do remember was using a fan to […]