ManninoAcid

Diner Coffee

I choose to treat religious discourse like coffee at a diner: When someone puts their hand over the cup, that means they are done. It could be because they have had enough or their cup is already full. Perhaps they didn’t want coffee in the first place and only took what they did out ofContinue reading “Diner Coffee”

Vito’s Shed

My father’s shed has remained much the way he left it 7 years ago. Sure we’ve rearranged things, discarded some items, added others and overall tidied up in the meantime but the basic layout is as Papa designed it; everything in it’s place and a place for everything. Now where those places are and whatContinue reading “Vito’s Shed”

rewind

I can’t help but feel a whiff of nostalgic grief over this news. As someone whom just recently rented half a dozen hand-picked family classics for less than 10 bucks it saddens me that this era is ending much in the way the death of cassettes left a bitter taste. Perhaps it’s just the furiousContinue reading “rewind”

Strip Mall World

Welcome to Anyburb, USA where the prototypical strip mall is alive and well. The hair-pizza-laundry-liquor-flower-nail-Chinese-convenience store all fun-sized and bundled cozily together in a paint overdue broken AC set from a low budget Troma movie. “Toxic Avenger 4: The Strip Mall Years.” If not for the presence of a prepaid cellular shop you’d feel likeContinue reading “Strip Mall World”

Tribal Gathering

Sitting here fireside bathed in the ghostly starlight it occurs suddenly to me that it’s not for the heat nor the light that we kindle this fire tonight. It’s for the gathering that the fire promotes. It’s about the family and the friends and the glory of our common bond. The flame beacons us andContinue reading “Tribal Gathering”

Sickamore

Fifteen years ago we planted a tree in the front yard of our new home and dedicated it to the little life we had just planting in this world. Over the years we watched it grow and even as our marriage ended that little tree kept adding branches…growing stronger…taller. A growing symbol of the resilienceContinue reading “Sickamore”

Chapter New

So it seems that the insanity of youth is never fully squelched, only momentarily silenced amidst the deafening tones of adulthood. It seems that the roar of our most vulnerable years can become a rally cry for the 2nd coming of our spirit. Our souls are not bound by contract to follow lock-step the callContinue reading “Chapter New”

Lament for the lost smile

Oh where have you gone, Smilemaker? Once so clear and residing so near And now stricken completely from sight. Where did it go wrong, Smilemaker? Was the formula diluted, the chemistry polluted Or has the magic been poisoned away. Where do I go now, Smilemaker? My smiles are gone, conclusions been drawn And I’ve beenContinue reading “Lament for the lost smile”

Delusional Intoxicant Fit- Part 3 “Fell in love with an stripper”

So incendiary and decadent. Forlorn fruit. Surrendered temptation and sullied decency. Backsliding into adolescence when idealistic intentions reigned supreme and the rain superseded the thunder and lightning superficially ceded inelegantly against the criminally abused barn door of brilliance that suspends our disbelief only long enough to slap us squarely across the face of our fadingContinue reading “Delusional Intoxicant Fit- Part 3 “Fell in love with an stripper””

Perspective

Tonight I sat in the stands of Jack White Stadium and watched a team from the myspace-text-message generation play their hearts out. There on the sideline stood a familiar yet much older coach hunched over and moving slightly slower than I remember. His notorious “ear fro” had become a much more stately gray. Late inContinue reading “Perspective”