Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot

On a scorching July morning in a Colorado that existed before cell phones, streaming, and apps, my friend Michelle and I slathered oil on ourselves and sprawled out on a couple of rickety aluminum lawn chairs in my tiny, unkempt backyard. This was also a time before we became concerned about sun damage, melanoma, and our mortality.My little boombox sat in the shade on the square of concrete that was almost a patio. The spinning gears in the tape deck cranked out The Doors on cassette.Michelle picked up the bong that sat between us, took a hit, and handed it to me. She giggled and said, "Dude. Check us out. We look like a couple of greasy goons."I lifted my head and scanned my skinny white legs, shimmering with fine blond hairs and grease, like a scrawny chicken ready for the oven. The oil covered my face, my hair pulled up tight in a clumsy knot. I took the bong...
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Not Wishing You a Merry Christmas

Not Wishing You a Merry Christmas

I am not going to wish you a Merry Christmas. I am not going to wish you Happy Holidays, a Happy New Year, or even Happy Ass Slap from an Expensive Hooker. No matter what we say anymore, someone's out there to complain. So, I won't offer you Xmas cheer, a Happy Hanukkah,  Joyeux Noël, Feliz Navidad or a Happy Solstice.I wish you more than this. So much more.When someone says to you: Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Have a nice Tuesday or a bitchin' Saturnalia, I wish you the clear-sightedness to see when another human is saying something just to be kind, affable & cheerful. I wish you enough common decency to choke down your pettiness, smile & respond in your own kind, affable & cheerful way. I hope you'll be reasonable enough to comprehend how one person phrases something shouldn't diminish your joy; that most battles never need to be fought & that being offended is a meaningless thing.I...
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The Detritus of 2010

"For last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning." - T.S. Eliot ◊ The year of 2010 just didn't go according to plan. Then again, looking back, I can't recall a single year of my life yet that has. That'd just be spooky and weird if nothing unexpected happened. Not to mention boring, eh? For the two residents of the Rasmenian Nation, the year of 2010 began with chaos, anger and the frustration of international and cross country travel in the dead of winter. Indeed, our last days of 2009 and first few days of 2010 were spent engaged in family squabbles, re-routed Greyhound buses and bumming around airports. Oh... and I was fucking sick, choking on and snorting my own phlegm, which is just as sexy as it sounds. But, we summoned every bit of patience we had and made our way There & Back Again. So, we eventually made our...
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Greed is Disgusting.  Gluttony is Better.

Greed is Disgusting. Gluttony is Better.

"I do like Christmas on the whole.... In its clumsy way, it does approach Peace and Goodwill.  But it is clumsier every year." ~E.M. ForsterIt's finally over.  The shopping, the wrapping, the unwrapping...the over the river & through the woods.  Ugh.  Finally.  Over.  It's not that I don't like Christmas...it's just that Christmas, like a great many things, annoys the living shit out of me.It's a time of year that is filled with stress like no other.  Deadlines, travel plans, added expenses & the relatives that we've managed to avoid since last year.  But the greatest annoyance of all is that greed is more apparent during the holidays than at any other time of year.  At a time of year when many of us would like to be reminded of the beauty of the human spirit, I generally end up disgusted with it.People forget what's important about getting together for the holidays.  It's not about the giving or the receiving...
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