We sat together in a room on Christmas morning. We talked about our favorite meals and our favorite memories from back when we were young. And we laughed for a while.
We laughed about our childhood memories and the way it was to be a kid on Christmas morning. We talked about the presents and the way things change from action figures to a new bike (or something like that).
We spoke to one another the way regular people speak. There was no hierarchy, no pecking order, just a roomful of men who wished to be elsewhere. But due to the circumstance, for the moment, this was all that we had.
Author Archives: bennyk1972
Ever Play Solitaire?
There was a time before machines and applications. There was a time when I was much younger with the entire world on my mind. I was armed with nothing else but a deck of playing cards and a game of solitaire. I learned this game from when I was sick and hospitalized. I have no real memories from this time. I was very young and the name of whatever sickness I had was more of an adult word than something an 8 year-old would understand.
I have pictures or perhaps flashes of me in a hospital room. I sickly and tired and wondering if this was my fault or if “God” was mad at me for something.
As a matter of fact, I tried to make a few deals with God. I tried bargaining but the needles kept coming. And man, did they hurt!
Anyway, this is when I learned how to play solitaire. I was able to distract myself—or better yet, I was able to lose myself in the different color codes of red and black and how to organize the cards.
For What It’s Worth
I think now is a good time that we have a little talk. I wasn’t going to do this here because I’m never too sure if we are ever alone—or at least, really alone. But at risk of exposure, I thought twice about this and yes, this is the right place.
I think the only approach is the humble one, which in my case; this is me, here and now. What I am about to expose or explain is something that comes from the heart—and while I admit this is raw and perhaps somewhat uncomfortable or perhaps it is too much for some people to expose one’s self honestly, it doesn’t have to be uncomfortable or strange. This doesn’t have to be uncomfortable at all, but yet, I get it. Bright light exposes darkness. And sometimes, it’s bright . . .
A Letter. . .
You lose touch after a while. The past is nothing more than the past and the old running buddies from the old stomping grounds are nothing more than part of your history. This took me a while to learn but I learned this, nonetheless. And for the record, I still remember. I’m sure you do too. I remember my old friends the same as I remember the stories that we shared together. I suppose what happens is we move on or in some cases, maybe we grow up. Either way, eventually, the past becomes old chapters that seem like stories, which happened in a different lifetime.
Continue readingFrom the Boys: A Memory
There was nothing so special about that afternoon. There is no reason why this day sticks out in my mind, other than the fact that this was simply a day in my life. Nothing happened. There was no special excitement. There was nothing specific or notable about this day. I was coming home after a weekend out. It was summertime in New York City. I made the choice to walk from 23rd Street at 2nd Avenue over to the Westside on 8th to walk upward towards Pennsylvania Station and make my train ride home.
Continue readingNotes From the Heart: To “The Kid”
So you breathe . . .
You breathe because what other choices do you have? You’ve fallen (maybe?) or you’re tired or you’re hurt, but hey, life doesn’t seem to care, right? Hurt or not, we still have a race to run.
Abstract: A Little of the Ol’ Introspection
I had to take a step back. I had to break away for a moment just to detach. So before going forward, I want to be clear that I am doing this because I choose to and not because I have to. I want to be very clear that although I write honestly and openly, my aim is clear and therefore, I refuse the notions that one is in pain because they write about pain. I refuse the ideas that one has to be in love to write about love and I reject the opinions that assume a person is in crisis, simply because they write about crisis. This is not my case at all. Instead, I expose my weakness to gain strength. I expose my fears to become brave and I reveal my truths because, with a humble heart, this is me.
Maybe it’s the summer. Maybe it’s the heat and the build of tension like the humidity before the storm until — ah; the rain comes down to soak the dust of our crazy lives. Maybe it’s the social tensions around us or maybe this is really simple; it’s just difficult because we, ourselves, are complicated.
I’m not sure if you can see me where you are, up so high, but this is me, right here.
Idea Ten: Last But Certainly Not Least
Before closing this series of ideas, there is an experience that I would like to share. My reason for this little handbook is to show that life can be relatable, regardless of our differences. My aim is to focus on the goals and the tasks at hand, which at this point (and given the mood of the current climate) we find ourselves in new territory. Regardless of the viral outbreaks or the rise and fall of our economy, the world is still moving.
Continue readingIdea Nine: Safety and Equity
It was an early summer morning when a start-up engineer began his morning shift at a commercial office building. His job was to start all of the building equipment, the fans and the chilled water equipment to cool the office suites in the building. Upon arrival, the engineer put on all of the building fans and then went down to the basement to a place called the Chiller Room. This is where the machine is. This is where the cooling comes from. This is where the pumps are that circulate water through a chiller system to remove the heat from the water and return to the coils in the fan units to remove the heat and the humidity from the air that blows across the coils. To put it simply; this is how air conditioning works. The idea is to remove the heat and humidity from a room and place it somewhere that is unobjectionable.
Continue readingIdea Eight: The Benefits of Team Synergy
When the school year ends, a long list of college students prepare themselves to head down the valley of summer internships. Students find themselves in working environments to get a taste of what awaits. These students are about to embark on a new journey. They are about to learn more from a practical level. They are about to see the ins and outs of working life. They will learn from people who work for a living, who had to roll up their sleeves and from people who live an everyday routine.
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