Month: July 2012

When I was six years old, my grandmother passed away due to a serious asthma attack. When I think of six-year-old me, I think I was pretty smart. I really loved the movie Amadeus, for some reason, as a small example (what a weird kid). But I really didn’t understand this whole asthma thing. I… Continue reading Surviving Survivor’s Guilt

You have been through such a hard time. I understand. I’ve been there.  Your world becomes tiny. You don’t feel like eating. You don’t enjoy being awake and your sleeps are restless and tense. Every word and glance is an insult. Every new connection is a person waiting to tear you down. You curl yourself… Continue reading Butterfly, Come Out of That Cocoon!

I just got done watching the Wimbledon men’s championship – Roger Federer versus Andy Murray. I used to watch tennis a lot when I was younger, especially around my high school years. At that time, I agreed with the announcers whole-heartedly when they talked about a player being “old” at age 30. Thirty seemed ancient.… Continue reading Give your dreams a voice

If you know much about William Tecumseh Sherman, you’re probably unable to think of him as the soft and squishy type. In fact, at least based on his wartime actions and his writings, Sherman was cantankerous, honest to a fault (even when it was uncomfortable), stoic to the point of hardly showing any emotion at… Continue reading She Ranks Me

Back in 2000, Ed Harris produced and acted in a movie called Pollock, which, per the name, told the story of artist Jackson Pollock or “Jack the Dripper.” I don’t remember a whole lot about the movie – it was pretty depressing, if you must know – but there is one scene that has always… Continue reading Measuring Influence in Nods

Part of my July 4th celebration this year was to watch the HBO miniseries, John Adams. The series seems to do a pretty good job of portraying the rocky friendship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who in a lot of ways were sort of like the odd couple. Jefferson was a Virginian, Adams was… Continue reading Friendship Defined