Troubled souls

Sinead O'Connor and de-stigmatizing mental illness

Sinead O'Connor never wanted to die, until life just became too much.

The beauty of sound

I’ve been going to the local basketball courts every morning for the last year or so for a couple hours each day. I started by shooting 100 three-pointers every day and tracking my progress. One day I decided to shoot a second 100 shots. Now I am to the

Observations

Ignorance is bliss

Next time somebody calls you ignorant, say thank you.

Footprints in the sand

“One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord. After the last scene

Observations

Making your dash count

The Dash is a lovely poem about making life count.

Observations

Be honest with yourself

Honesty is such a lonely word, and mostly what I need from you now.

Observations

Dawn Chorus: What we can learn from birds

Dawn chorus is a term used for the sound of the birds singing in the pre-dawn hours.

Observations

If you could know exactly when you are going to die, would you?

I've had this debate numerous times on numerous occasions with different friends.

Benny Hill died alone

I grew up in the 1980s, and my first introduction to nudity may very well have been while I watched Benny Hill. My dad was an immigrant who didn’t speak much English, so he didn’t understand much of American television. But he understood Benny Hill. What was there

Movies

Stutz

The documentary begins with Hill saying he was doing the film to get his psychiatrist’s ideas out there. He ended the documentary by saying he was doing it as, essentially, a labor of love and tribute to his psychiatrist.

Mother

How grounding saved me

I lost my mother two years ago, so, yeah, it is not easy hearing all the commercials for Mother’s Day, seeing all the Hallmark cards, and reading all the social media posts.

Troubled souls

Sticks and stones

These are far different times we live in today than any generation of human beings has ever had to endure. It is easier than ever to communicate. It is easier than ever to judge and criticize. It is easier than ever to hurt people’s feelings.

Troubled souls

Howie Mandel: I'm distracted

Last weekend I went to see Howie Mandel at a small, old theater in Woonsocket. I found it odd that he was performing there.

Observations

Positive reinforcement

I filmed myself shooting three-point shots numerous times in short segments. I surprised myself by realizing how much I enjoyed reviewing the videos afterwards.

Observations

Ignoring jerks

This burly, middle-aged construction worker, wearing a reflective vest, continues to mumble at me as he angrily taps the screen of the self checkout register, “I guess you own the world, right?

Observations

Deep Sea Creatures

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard

Observations

Did you have fun today?

There are certain things that I say to my girlfriend every day. “I love you.” “I am so grateful for another day with you.” “I am so thankful for you.” “Everyday with you is a gift and I don’t take it for granted.”

Troubled souls

Genius as a curse: Bobby Fischer

The only person by his bedside when Fischer died at the age of 64 in 2008 was a psychiatrist (not his own). According to this psychiatrist, Fischer’s last words were, “Nothing is as healing as the human touch.”

Mother

The day my mother died

It was two years ago today that I kissed her forehead for the last time. I wrote this poem the day she died. I honor her memory by publishing it here.

Mother

Grief is just love with no place to go

“Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot.

Mother

Buried in sand

And it got me thinking. Do I really want to get better? Have I grown so accustomed to feeling this grief and pain that the idea of living any other way now scares me, or is not even appealing to me?

Mother

Dealing with depression

As if hitting that major milestone birthday was not hurtful enough, in the last year I lost my mother (MY best friend) and, subsequently, my job. And let us not forget that whole COVID thing which has hung over our heads for the last two years.