Empire State of Mind

The dream is still alive. I hesitate to call it a dream, because honestly, it’s a necessity. New York is still where I have to be.

You see, I’m about $65,000 in debt for my education. Never having the opportunity to just be a student, I also worked myself to the edge of insanity and poor health to get the skills needed for the career I want in publishing. Where else but New York?

I haven’t given up, and there are always plenty of prospects. I have applied for quite a few, but not nearly enough. It’s not easy… Read More ➤

When I Ruled the World

I pride myself on having no regrets or resentments in life. Every single thing that has ever happened to each of us makes us who we are today. If you’re truly happy with that person, then every struggle and every joy was well worth it. And I am mostly happy with who I am.

But this doesn’t mean I don’t miss a few opportunities I once had.

When I was a kid, I pretty much ruled my world. Everything was there for me to see, and there seemed to be few limits! I’m not saying… Read More ➤

The Little Things

Sometimes the little things have the most power over us. It could be a movie scene, a certain scent, or a familiar taste. For me, it’s often a song—especially lately.

Because the radio was free and we rarely had cable, music was always a big part of my life growing up. So just about any song from the 1980s or 1990s has some meaning, whether a specific relation to the lyrics, or simply an attachment in my mind to some event. Chaka Khan’s “I Feel for You” always means “Mississippi State Fair” to me. In the 1980s, they played it HEAVILY at all the rides that included music. “Come On Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners always has the feeling of zooming down an Interstate cloverleaf on the way to a friend’s birthday party, since that’s the first time I… Read More ➤

Seasons Change…People Change.

Autumn is all but gone. The colors seemed to come out of nowhere, bursting in beautiful intensity until all the world seemed to have a new coat of paint. It was magical—short, but magical. I really wasn’t expecting much this year, considering the near-drought conditions of summer that caused many trees to drop leaves a month early. But somehow, nature held back just enough for the big finale.

Isn’t that how life should be though? Full of… Read More ➤

Where in the World…?

Ugh!

Where have I been!? Why no posts? The world is just DYING to know, I’m sure.

The simple answer is—busy. But that’s not the only reason for not posting. You see, during elections and the political circus they bring, I tend to avoid posting so as to not rant and rave about the lunatics. I simply don’t have the time to say all that needs to be said, and I find it far too frustrating. So I just back off writing anything but the occasional… Read More ➤

Dreaming

Even at my age, I find that I’m often dreaming—not those fantasies about weird or illogical things, but dreaming, nonetheless. My kind of dreaming is just getting wrapped up in the small things around me–the things most people just ignore, deliberately or by default.

When I see a butterfly, I don’t just say “oooh, pretty,” before snapping a photo. I sort of go into… Read More ➤

One Small Man

It’s easy to feel bigger than the world. After all, we’re always inside our own head, so it becomes our world or at least our frame of reference for it. Sometimes we just don’t see any further than ourselves. But there are times when I’m reminded that the world is so much bigger than I am. No, I don’t have to descend into a volcano, jump from a plane, or climb a huge mountain. Sometimes it only takes something small.

I recently stumbled upon … Read More ➤