It's All Goodnow

This is the first chapter from a book I wrote a few years ago.  I don't like it.  At all. But I wanted to put it out there.......because why not?  The content is very graphic and could be upsetting to some.  Sorry for that, but it is the beginning to a very sad story. Chapter One - Shivering.  His body physical turrets.  Huddling near the hot water heater in hopes it might expel enough heat to keep him from death.  His jeans soaked in blood, his white t-shirt dirty from sleeping on the cellar floor.  Stomach empty, but no appetite after having his insides so badly damaged by a grown man.  Punishment for being an unwilling participant.  He used the corner of the empty space to empty his bowels of shit and blood. The smell was vile and he knew he would be troubled for making a mess he could not avoid.  This wasn’t the first time he had been sent to the basement.  Of course, last time it was in August and it was not so cold.  In hindsight August was quite temperate, but this was

A few years back I was working on a customer loyalty program.  Frankly, the idea and intentions were excellent, but what we quickly realized was that we put in place WAY too many steps for a person to join the program.  We lacked the technology to have a one step enrollment process.  You live and you learn with stuff like that.   Anyhow, the process and the amount copy I wrote for follow up emails made me think....what if a company actually wrote what they wanted to say to customers who weren't visiting the store or utilizing their rewards card.   I created Gorilla Guns.  Welcome E-Mail Thank you for signing up with the Gorilla Guns Weapons Rewards card!  We are thrilled you have selected Gorilla for all of your weapons, ammo, and gadget needs.  Remember, your rewards card entitles you earn free ammo for every third gun you purchase.  We thank you for choosing Gorilla and look forward to putting our sites on you! The Team at Gorilla Guns One week of no

Election Day. I have a few thoughts.  None of which really matter.  1. I had to vote absentee and it sucked.  I actually enjoy waiting in line to vote (let's not get fucking crazy here.  10-15 minutes is cool, 3 hours is insane and a problem).  It may be the same part of me that likes jury duty.  It is part of the American process.  I embrace it.  2. I wish I were in NYC tonight.  There is just more going on.  3. Election Day should be a national holiday.  It is shameful that it is not.   4. Donald Trump could win this thing.  5. I got Sling TV to watch the election results.  It keeps cutting out and the NBC option is only "On Demand"   Not cool.   6. How can you call a state on 2% of the vote? 7. I think Brian Williams is great.  I just don't know if I believe that he was in the room when Donald Trump won the presidency.  8. Chris Matthews does not like Brian Williams.   9.  It will all be over soon.   10.  Did I mention th

I would venture to say that 90% of Americans are not happy with who they are going to vote for.  Be it voting against one candidate or simply having no reasonable choice.   Blah, blah, blah.  We have heard this for an entire election cycle.  Frankly, I think a whole lot of people are arguing for and against two candidates who provide them with no value.  I don't particularly care to go on about this election.  The slog that it has been.   Let's think about 2020.  Let's think about getting that third or fourth party candidate.  Think about how we move on from two choices that make us cringe.  How do we break away from Democrat and Republican only options?  How do we start a third party that is not looked upon as fringe?   I have cast my vote and want to be done with this idiocy.  Let's focus on finding someone who, perhaps, does not know that he or she should be found.   That is what I want to spend my time thinking about.  There are millions of talented p

Now that I have caught my breath from my "moderate to advanced" (according to the trail finder website) hike of Douglas Mountain,  I have some thoughts. 1. I probably should have worn orange. 2. I heard a whole lot of gun shots.  My favorite was the six gun shots in a row.  Didn't get Bambi the first time there did ya? 3. Didn't know I had so many places in my ankle that could become sore. 4. I accidentally wandered on to some person's property.  It was creepy.  This home in the middle of the woods.  There was an outhouse.  And probably someone in the basement who didn't want to be there.  Just a guess. 5. Everyone has a dog who hikes in Maine.  Only one of them tried to bite me, so that's cool.  Though I would take the dog bite over a stray bullet that didn't get Bambi the first time. 6. Even the dogs wore orange. 7. I brought a Pumpkin beer to drink at the top of the mountain, does that count? 8 There were kids at the top of the mountain, I

Just some thoughts........ There isn't anything that can be said about this coming election that have no already been written.  I think I will join the chorus of "wake me when it is over" and "I'm voting for Hilary, but I don't like it." It does strike me as odd that all of these conservative leaning folks are defending Trump.  The guy is the least conservative human being around.  How many girls do you think he has paid to "get it taken care of"?  Putting the over/under at 6.5 When has he even fought for the little guy?  When has he ever been a good human being?  When has his life ever been about anyone other than himself?   It is really sad that we are here.  That we can't find someone better than the Clinton machine and a guy who, with a fair amount of certainty, will start WWIII.   Never thought I would say this, but where is Mitt Romney when you need him? Other musings of mine......... Good for you Cubs.  Can

The Trump vs. Clinton Dilemma is an American Dilemma I have always been into politics.  The board game "Hail to the Chief" was my favorite growing up.  (At the age of 11 I could name all 50 state capitals.  Today.....Hold on, let me try.  Tell you in a second......43.  Respectable, but an exercise that led me to kick myself over forgetting the capital of New Hampshire.)  I love political dramas like House of Cards and The West Wing (another reason I should have known the capital of NH).  When I was in college I majored in Political Science and nearly went to 50% of my classes.  On Sunday mornings I tend to watch Meet the Press. You get the picture I am painting here.  I enjoy politics. And I'll even tell you my political views.  I am a fiscal conservative and liberal on most social policies.  Our tax code is completely broken.  Immigration is a problem that can be fixed with cooperation and better border enforcement/let's make sure we are monitoring student visas

My apartment gets hot.  If I were smart I would start renting it out as a Bikram Yoga studio.  I am at the point where I hibernate in my bedroom with the AC unit.  To demonstrate just how hot it is, I purchased bananas 3 days ago.  They melted.  Actual mush for produce that had been sitting on the counter for 3 days.  I've never seen anything like it. My mailbox says I have one unread email.  I have been through every mailbox.  Twice. There are no unread emails.  I feel like it is one of those April Fool's pranks that Google pulls only it last all year for me. I got myself a new phone plan recently.  Same provider.  Different plan.  The service is so much worse.  I'm not even sure how that happens, but I get voicemails 12 hours after they are left and service cuts out.  It even has me "roaming" like I am using a car phone from 1992.   I'm not sure what to say about the first night of the Republican National Convention.  I mean, Duck Dynasty and Charles i

I had taken some time off from writing. Maybe I was burnt out from my job.  Maybe it was laziness.  Maybe there is just so much good stuff on Netflix.  All I know is, it happens.  Sometimes there needs to be a recharging to get back to what you want to do.  It has taken me a bit of time, but I do know that I want to write.  In no capacity do I think I'm going to end up in the New Yorker or on a bestseller list.  But what I do know is that I have a voice to my writing that some people enjoy.  I'm short and I'm dry and from time to time dare I say, funny. But there was a stretch of time when I simply couldn't find the words.  My mind was the teacher in Charlie Brown.  My hands hit the wrong keys.  (How on earth did people type on typewriters?  Were they just superior human beings who had a firm grasp on grammar, spelling, and the placement of the.....typewriter keys - is that what you call it?  I have a laptop or MacBook, whatever you want to call it, that was designed b