The first instrument I took up was the drums and began formal lessons when I was 8. My dad (father #2) sort of pushed me in that direction and, in fact, father #1 was a very talented drummer (they both knew each other and sometimes even played in the same bands) so perhaps it...
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The atmosphere in America during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was extraordinary to say the least. With the immediate threat of annihilation in the forefront of everyone’s mind, the collective consciousness of the public moved through their lives with the insane thought that if things didn’t go right in Cuba we’d have to...
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I began running track in junior high school because, number one, I was an athlete with energy to blow off but, number two, it was the kind of singular endeavor that I could approach all on my own without the immediate concern of teamwork. I loved sports like basketball and hockey but my natural...
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Yes, this was my greatest scheme ever and it’s a shame that it happened so early in life because I don’t think I was sophisticated enough to realize just how brilliant it was. It was 1959 and I was an imaginative 3rd grader with time on his hands (what 3rd grader doesn’t have time...
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I was seemingly born with a naiveté reserved for someone with far less brain power than myself but that did not prevent me from being unable to understand why something would be less than advertised or someone would be deceptive if they were a friend. Now I’m a card carrying, rant-toting, discriminating thinker with...
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD as it is called is a mental circus act that causes a person to irrationally focus on a particular function or object. Another of its forms is where a person returns to an action, the same action over and over, expecting a different outcome each time. This type of...
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Recently my mother recalled a classic Petey moment and I’d be remiss not to include it in the collection (see the prior September 14th entry “Petey”). As I’d mentioned earlier, my dad’s (father #2) mother lived with us for a while when I was 2 to 3 years old and was there for the...
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Up until I was age 9 or so we always had various animals around, as a direct result of my dad’s (father #2) other occupation as a professional magician. Doves, for instance, were a staple of the act, as were ducks and the occasional rabbit. Petey? Well, Petey was definitely not scheduled to hit...
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Life with its infinite randomness can be affected by the simplest of twists or turns. One choice leads you to one end and another leads somewhere else completely. Instinct is probably your greatest ally and to ignore it is to dismiss a built-in protection system but I wasn’t thinking that on the way to...
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