Archive for May 2010
Road kill punch
In my younger days, I dated a girl who attended North Adams State College, now known as Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. In those days, the school was known for its parties, so I made many trips up north to visit her. The most memorable party of the bunch was held at a frat house…
Read MoreYou can be yourself, but only if you wear a tie
Last night I was helping a kid put on his tie prior to a concert. “But I don’t want to wear a tie,” he moaned as I slipped it over his head. “I know,” I said, tightening it around his neck. “I don’t ever wear a tie, but I’m an adult. I can make that…
Read MoreBetsy Claypool more interesting than Betsy Ross
Less than a week after I take a shot at Betsy Ross and her “sewing achievement” (angering more than I expected) comes BETSY ROSS AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA, which was reviewed in the Times Sunday Book Review. Serendipity. The review opens with this paragraph: Most historians dismiss the story about Betsy Ross making the…
Read MoreSome of us don’t need anymore drama
From Derek Sivers blog: Kurt Vonnegut, who happens to be my hero, reasoned that people crave drama in their lives because the typical story arc for a real life person is something like this: I’d like to go on record as saying that even though I am also a real life person, this in no…
Read MoreI don’t think you exist, but that doesn’t mean you should yell at me in the brief moments that you do.
I often profess a fondness for the belief that the world exists only for me, and that the existence of other human beings, as well as all other things, is predicated upon my ability to perceive them. In short, when you leave a room, you no longer exist since I can no longer see you.…
Read MoreTick tock
This is the worst part of the writing process for me: The waiting. The manuscript is done, and it’s in Taryn’s hands. I sit and wait, usually for about a week, hoping to hear that it’s absolutely perfect. Expecting to hear that it’s absolutely perfect. That’s a long week. A frustrating week. A hair-pulling, gut-wrenching…
Read MorePeeing was never so fun
I’m not sure which of these is more bizarre: The Stadium Pal, made famous by a David Sedaris essay, which allows men to urinate without a restroom through the use of an external catheter and a collection bag that straps onto the calf, or it’s equally ugly sister, the Stadium Gal, “a Female Urinary Pouch.”…
Read MoreLeft handed people will tell you: This could not be more true
Making my own karma
I may still be sick, but I can still be a jerk when the need arises. After a visit to the doctor today (where I was stuck with needles three times before they managed to draw blood), I headed to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription that the doc had called in for me.…
Read MoreWhat is an alternative lifestyle anymore?
Okay, I like The Spin Cycle Cafe, a combination cafe, bar and laundromat in town. My newest book, CHICKEN SHACK, which I am in the process of finishing and selling, features a combination funeral home and fried chicken stand, so I like the combination-location idea a lot. And I’ve written about The Spin Cycle Cafe…
Read More