Yesterday I changed. Permanently. It’s neither a good nor a bad change. However, it was necessary. I didn’t intend to change; June 23, 2014, was going to be just another day. But something happened that set in motion a whole series of thoughts and conclusions, and by nightfall I was a different person. I would…
Another valuable concept destroyed
March 20, 2014
Jill Filipovic recently wrote a piece titled, “We’ve Gone Too Far with ‘Trigger Warnings.’” It’s about how university students are demanding that virtually everything unpleasant have a “trigger warning,” meaning a disclaimer that will alert sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder that they may read or see something that could trigger a flashback. The result? Another…
Listen only to yourself
February 5, 2014
Yesterday I saw a video about two close friends named Erik Fitzgerald and Matt Swatzell. Actually, I watched only part of the video. I knew the second it started what it would be about: One man killed a loved one of the other man, and now the two are friends. And that’s precisely the story….
There is no wrong decision
February 2, 2014
A fellow defrauded author contacted me about his experiences with Mike Albee and Lura Dold of Sandpiper Publicity, who scammed me of $40,000 by exploiting the suicides of my parents in 2013. I just sent off two e-mails to what I’m sure will be interested parties. Another person pointed out that Shannon Bromham—who loved me…
When headlines do not match stories
December 9, 2013
A reader sent me the link to this story: “Viewing News of Trauma Worse Than Experiencing It.” The problem is that the story doesn’t say that. After the Boston marathon bombings, people who spent six hours a day scouring media for updates were more traumatized than those who were actually there, a US study suggested…
A very bad man, part one
December 1, 2013
We live in a golden age of flim-flammery. A lot of you reading this are depressed and aghast at what you see; my parents were too. They couldn’t believe how the world had changed since they were born. So to give you a sense of proportion, I’ll tell the story of the most merciless, predatory,…
A very bad man, part two
December 1, 2013
There was no sense of order at all, piles of debris having simply been dumped wherever a clear space had existed. It was a scene of such devastation that I immediately lost all desire to browse and decided to leave. I greeted Larry and engaged him in our ritualized banter, but his heart wasn’t in…
A very bad man, part three
December 1, 2013
He simply would not listen, would not change the way he did things, and would not stop bringing in more and more junk that nobody on the planet wanted. We had no idea how this three-quarters-dead old man would leave another four hundred pounds of crap for us to sort, but he pulled off this…
A very bad man, part four
December 1, 2013
When we arrived at Larry’s hanger, he told us he didn’t have the key, so we’d have to go home. Instead, Tim took a crowbar from his car and silently broke the lock while Larry wailed. Inside, we learned the last of Larry’s secrets. His hidden treasure was a landfill of magazines, cardboard boxes, empty…
A very bad man, part five
December 1, 2013
After we were back within our own walls, I waited an hour and then called Larry’s home number. He answered with his mouth full and told me that he was perfectly okay. I could hear his television blasting in the background “I’m really sorry, but I can’t come back,” I said. “Yeah, sure, I understand….