NYC: An Absence of Panic, A Waiter with Dreams, A Writer Inspired

June 21, 2010

In NYC, my friend Julie asks me if I’m daunted by the crowds. She knows me well and is worried about me. My anxiety level rises and falls in relation to people. Some people are panicked by elevators or heights, but my own shaky-legged, heart-racing, head-pounding, queasy panic tends to set itself off in crowds. [...]

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In New York City, a Room of My Own

June 17, 2010

It’s 1:30 in the morning. My feet are so sore after a day of walking the city streets that they almost feel broken. I’m sitting in the only peaceful haven I’ve found in New York so far – the backyard of Muldoon’s Irish pub on 3rd Avenue. It’s supposed to be closed, but the bartender [...]

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In Stroudsburg, PA: Injured eyes, an empty purse, and another untold story.

June 11, 2010

Sitting on a park bench with a cigarette dangling from her mouth, she scours through the same purse again and again, looking for something that obviously isn’t there. I imagine it helps keep her focus off the impending rain.
She’s a bum. That’s what homeless people are called, as if nothing else needs to be said. [...]

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Cadillac Wishes & Chevrolet Dreams

June 2, 2010

I have this recurring dream: I’m driving down an Arizona highway in a bright yellow Chevy Camaro.  The sunroof and windows are open, XM’s Soultown station is playing Marvin Gaye, and there’s a fresh latte in the drink holder. At 75 mph, it feels like I’m gliding.
I pass exit after exit. I don’t want to stop. [...]

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Neil Diamond, Outcasts, Imperfections, and a Desire to Fly

May 25, 2010

When I was 11, I sat in a downtown Reno theater and experienced the closest thing to a benevolent God that I’d ever felt. Actually, I watched Jonathon Livingston Seagull, a movie about a bird who was so passionate about flying faster and farther that his flock cast him out. It was a wordless movie, [...]

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In Asheville, Carole King guides me, Bette Midler fries me an egg, and I’m pretty sure Dana Stevenson is friendless in prison.

May 15, 2010

On the drive up to Asheville from Wilmington last Sunday, I looked forward to exploring the most progressive city in North Carolina, and lodging at the beautiful 1847 Blake House Inn. Carole King was singing her heart out in my beautiful, borrowed Cadillac and I couldn’t help but sing along with her.
Sometimes you win, sometimes [...]

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Once, I Was Your Hero

May 11, 2010

Once, I amazed you with homemade Play-Doh, decorated lunch bags, and handwritten stories in colorful Acco binders. I taught you how to read, ride a bike, and shuffle a deck of cards like a seasoned 21 dealer.
I’d tuck you into bed at night with stories and kisses but somehow, until you were 10 or so, [...]

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Best, Biggest, Worst, Most, Greatest & Other Experiences from the Road

May 5, 2010

Update: I started this post yesterday. It’s now morning, and Ocean Isle, NC is awash in blue skies and sunshine. I’m heading out to play!
It’s a gray and rainy day at the Ocean Isle Inn in North Carolina, where I have been invited to stay as a guest. I was hoping for a sunnier stay, [...]

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Jesus on a pink motorcycle, knitting hookers, feral dogs, and a beautiful sense of wellbeing.

April 26, 2010

A warrior for Christ was cruising Big Pine Key on a bright pink motorcycle with “Jesus is Lord” signs on all four sides. He wore the same saying on his t-shirt, and a loose confederate flag patch waved from one leg of his blue jeans. He looked tense and unhappy, as if he had been [...]

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She Throws Herself Back In

April 19, 2010

Once, there was a storm that threw her out of the sanctuary of the ocean and onto the crowded shore. On land, she lost her ability to float and after a time her sense of weightlessness, of effortless being, became a recessive memory – something she would recall when tides were low and the forces [...]

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