It's All Goodnow

It was a Wednesday morning in southern New Jersey.  I had just begun a road trip that I am still on.  Making my way down the East Coast of this great country I am visiting several friends that I would not otherwise be able to see. My first stop was to see an old college buddy and his family.  Nick. Nick is active duty in the Army and luckily I caught him on a week when he was on vacation.  We were able to lift, drink some beers, hang out at his pool.................and one other thing.   He was going to show me some self defense moves given that he is some sort of belt that had virtually no meaning to me in Jui Jitsu. We were on our way to the local wrestling room where he trains from time to time and I snagged a couple of bottles of water for myself.  They weren't cold, but as long as I had something to hydrate with I figured I would be all set. We arrive and it is this old gym, brick building, no AC, covered in wrestling mats.  I snap a selfi...

You have those days when you mind has 400 different thoughts.  Today is that day for me. 1.  Have you had one of those amazing surprises when someone reaches out to you after years of radio silence?  Had two people from my past contact me in the last couple of weeks.  One of them told me that I should blog more often and that she enjoyed my writing.  Who am I to deny a gal a good read? 2. Listen to Roy Orbison's "You Got It".  And then the YouTube channel give you some Traveling Wilburys and you realize how amazing that group was.  And how sad it is that most of them are no longer with us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb6luT4NNJU 3. It takes a good holiday celebrating Mexico's defeat of the French at the battle of Puebla in 1862 for me to remember that a Corona with a fresh squeeze of lime is a delicious and refreshing beverage.  Below is the History Channel's Cinco De Mayo recap.  It doesn't talk about Corona. http://www.history...

I was given a gift certificate to a major department store.   After some deliberation I have decided that it was less a "gift" of material goods and more of an experience in what can happen in Westbrook, Maine on a Saturday morning.   A month ago I purchased a pair of work pants at BIG department store name  Apparently, I am fat because the size 36 waist didn't fit.  Be that as it may, I was given a couple pair of Carhardts with a size 36 waist and I swim around in them.  Whatever works.   I am standing in line to return these hipster styled worker pants and of course there is a women returning 46 different items.  Half bought online.  Half bought in other stores.  I threw in my headphones and decided to listen to the easy sounds of Brian Fallon and take a deep breath.  The lady at the return counter was doing her best and frankly, I was at a Department store name in Westbrook, Maine on a Saturday.  What am I supposed to expect...

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....

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 Te...

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 Wi...

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 t...