There is a longstanding phrase that sums up the impulsivity of youth: Young and stupid. It was likely suggested by some parent dazed by their child’s disregard for personal safety and lack of good judgment in the face of the obvious. I’m not saying that those in the older ranks can’t come up with...
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The noise and clouds of rising smoke have left this year’s 4th of July celebration in their wake but every Independence Day I’m reminded of my endless fascination with blowing up shit when I was a kid. I was a pyrotechnic terror just wondering, mind you, what would happen if this or that blew up. I...
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I routinely pump my mother for stories of my biological father (#1) because I never got to know him and I think that knowing something of his character gives me an insight into mine. Of course, ‘warts and all’ is the only worthy approach since good without the bad would present a distorted portrait...
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As anyone who knows me knows (is it you, dear reader?) I am nothing if not perfectly accurate in my recollection and honest to a fault. Knowing, in my mind, this truth, I’ve set forth the following account of a particular Mother’s Day in 1954 where, wishing to make it a truly special day,...
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It was so much fun the first time that I’ve unleashed 10 more of my life’s musical bookmarks, songs or themes that will forever be associated with a time and place: 1) Ry Cooder – “Yellow Roses”: I’ve had an irrational love for this 1955 Hank Snow classic ever since I started tooling around...
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When I was 8 years old, an elderly friend of my mother’s, Mrs. Smith, passed away and we agreed to adopt her beloved dog, Toby, a Spaniel of some sort. Not being especially adept at breed identification, I wouldn’t be able to offer much else about his origin. On the other hand, if Toby...
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Music denotes points of interest along the road of life, bookmarks if you will. We’ve all got events, significant or outright mundane, that are made memorable because of a song or piece of music that will forever elicit a memory. Since I’ve become quite a fan of randomness, here are several of mine in...
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Because there was no father on hand and because my mother tried to have a life even while caring for an only child, I did a lot of things on my own that would probably have been more enjoyable in a larger family environment. But at the time I didn’t have anything to compare...
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I never quite detected any real affection from my dad (father #2) when I was a kid and, as detailed in many prior stories, he seemed to be a never ending source of disappointment. I want to believe that he loved me but there’s no concrete proof of that since deeds would be a...
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When I sat and thought it through there were very few cherished moments with my dad (father #2) but there were some and, perhaps, that’s why they’re so striking in my memory. There are chunks of my childhood that defy detail but those scant few moments where my dad and I are actually interacting...
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