As spoken at Mom’s celebration of life, reprinted here for those who were not in attendance. (Photo for context Good morning.Before I say anything else, I want to acknowledge the banana in the room. As many of you know, yellow was Mom’s color—not in the arbitrary way we choose a favorite color, but as aContinue reading “A Eulogy for Mom”
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Friendly Foreign Shores
We took a trip across the inland seaTo an island beyond this placeWhere the music played and beckoned meAnd the natives were warm with grace There we found equanimityA place just this side of perfect.Absent was any hostilityThat we have grown to expect Instead, we found the kindest folkOffering the bounty of their spiritWhere wordsContinue reading “Friendly Foreign Shores”
A Father’s Day Lament: In Gradients of Grateful Grief
Father’s Day lately has been a bittersweet occasion—a time of inevitable melancholy. Join me as I explore the complex array of emotions this annual commemoration of Dad can elicit. As it turns out, generational inertia tugs in both directions
The Surreality of “Subreality”
Last week, I was reminiscing with some high school pals over the terrible songs my short-lived high school band produced, most notably “Subreality,” where my pathetic attempt at singing has turned the song into the stuff of legends. The guys regularly throw old lyrics back at me, and we’ll laugh at the absurdity. There, inContinue reading “The Surreality of “Subreality””
The Leveling
We all arrive at the starting line at the same time and the same place. We all registered and we were all counted individually as equals. No judgements made in the ether of anonymity that precedes the race. We are all counted as one. While this is how competitive sports are engineered to perform whatContinue reading “The Leveling”
Notice The Small
I challenge you to notice something small today. Look around at the familiar and seek out a minor detail that has previously evaded you. Most of what we observe gets conveniently summarized in our minds, grouped, and cataloged for ease of consumption. The challenge is to find a needle amid a myriad of haystacks andContinue reading “Notice The Small”
The Invisible Cage
There exists a system of incarceration that manages to evade the detection of even the most scrupulous observer. A system that is so pervasive and furtive that it has taken on a life of its own, adapting and evolving despite concerted efforts to defeat it. Like its natural counterpart, this prison is comprised of cagesContinue reading “The Invisible Cage”
Morning Sun
The morning sun creeps indifferently afloat.“Morning son!” an ill father solemly wrote.By evening the mourning sun will lamentAs the mourning son weeps for time misspent.
Sabotaged Flow Inhibitors
When considering the current fractured state of society, it occurred to me that somewhere along the way, some critical control mechanism degraded beyond function. This fundamental circuit operated for centuries, providing a filter between thought and communication by slowing or restricting access to the public feed. This loop delay afforded ample opportunity to rethink, revise,Continue reading “Sabotaged Flow Inhibitors”
Listen
We cling to our fragile supremacy like children to threadbare blankets woven from ignorance, fear, and misplaced pride. We regard our whiteness as proof of some divine providence, handed down from a white god to a white Christ to white leaders. The longer we cling to these delusions, the deeper the dilution of our denialContinue reading “Listen”
Mannino Acid 