Solitude*
Sean MurphyAnyone who has lost a parent (or worse, a child) can understand that when this happens it becomes an indelible line of demarcation: your life before and your life after.…
Semi-Autobiographical, Inspired By a Best Friend (Revisited)*
I am not alone. I have a best friend, who happens to be a dog. He is really good for me, reminding me to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom…
Say Anything (Revisited)
It could have been a great story. Boy moves across the country (actually across the town, but at age nine it’s the same difference), girl moves into house across the…
The Problem With the Homeless Problem (Revisited)
Who was he? I think the same question each time I see him (every day: the same man in the same spot, holding the same sign that tells everyone who…
Beethoven & Barenboim: The Power of Music*
Awake, alive. Alone. Never forget this feeling. That evening, halfway through high school, watching the snow fall outside your window. Lights out and that music playing: Beethoven. The sonatas, with…
Peter Gabriel & Me: The Power of Music
The face this guy makes when he listens to "Here Comes the Flood" by Peter Gabriel. Maybe not every time, and certainly not every time he is driving. But it's…
Q & A* (Revisited)
Question: What would you do differently? Answer: Nothing. True answer: Everything. Truest answer: I don’t know. *** If the death of a loved one provides the ultimate answer it also…
Finding Grace in Beautiful Places (Revisited)
In a piece I recommend you reading @ the reliably awesome Rumpus, writer Amber Sparks, a non-believer, discusses matters of faith, spirituality and art (check it here). The piece is…
Compassion*
License registration, no I ain’t got none, But I got a clear conscience ‘bout the things that I done… When you find yourself singing Bruce Springsteen lyrics in New Jersey…
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before*
Let me tell you a story. It involves a white male born in a steadily prospering town to a slowly prospering family. His father, the first in his Irish family…