I saw the perfect world our parents tried to give us disappear and vanish in the eyes of teenage boys on the verge of a terrible sickness.
And the parents wondered, “Why?”
They wondered, “Where did we go wrong?”
The drug culture is not a new thing. But parents seem to overlook this as if they have forgotten what they went through as teenagers. We come from a generation of excess. We come from more; we come from Continue reading
I have not been out to sea in years. I have stood at its edge. I have waded in—waist deep, and felt the curl of its waves on a hot summer day. But I have not been out to sea and gone beyond where the horizon meets land. I miss it this place. Its beauty is more than I can describe.
I often dream of sitting in the wheelhouse or pilothouse of my own boat. The diesel engines hum along as the bow, or front of my ship cuts through an oncoming sea. The boat rises up and down as Continue reading
It was long ago. The autumn had come and changed the appearance of my town. The leaves had yet to fall, but their green skin had changed into different variations of yellow and orange. The weather was no longer warm, but cool, as if it were in between the perfect climax before falling too far in the other direction.
My street was busy. Then again, it was always busy. The traffic on Merrick Avenue was constant; however, it was more congested during the morning and evening rush hours. Cars ran from west to east down Glenn Curtis Boulevard to avoid the extra lights and delays on Hempstead Turnpike. Glenn Curtis was a mainroad shortcut between Continue reading
1.
I had no idea what to expect . . .
When I was told they were going to send me to A.A meetings, I pictured dimly lit rooms, and round wooden tables with old men sitting quietly on matching wooden chairs.
I imagined they sat without speaking—and I figured everyone smoked with a lit cigarette either dangling from their lip as the smoke curled upwards, or perhaps they leaned over with an elbow on the table and the cigarette fit between their pointer and forefinger.
I imagined a room filled with Continue reading
The world I live in was meant for me. All of it was meant for me—and by all I mean ever sliver and crack.
I lived, I tell you.
I may have lived differently from others, but the details of my past are the salt and pepper that seasoned my life and led me to where I am now.
I once lived in the basement of a white, ranch-styled house, with black shutters on the windows, a small driveway, one-car garage, and brick steps that led up to a covered patio, with green imitation grass, and a welcome matt that sat beneath the front door.
I lived on a quiet street between two Continue reading
There was an advertisement poster on the train for Disney bracelets. The bracelet is a series of different charms to be strung around the wrist and custom-made. One of the silvery heart-like charms had the words, “Be Magical” engraved with a tiny Mickey Mouse emblem and diamond-like chips sparkled in its background.
This is what I remember about Disney:
Little girl looked up at the stage to watch the lights beam while the curtain opened and her eyes sort of glistened in the reflection of the greatest show on earth.
She stared in complete amazement—watching magic perform in front of Continue reading
As I write this to you, the sun is beginning to make its first debut for the year 2015. Currently, the temperature on the beach at Point Lookout, New York is 28 degrees. The wind direction is west by northwest and gusting from 16 to 27mph. The tide is ebbing between high and low and the inshore wave height is averaging between three to four feet.
There is a small craft advisory until later this evening. I suppose Continue reading
I take bets with my best friend on professional fights. We never bet with money and we never collect. We bet food, and depending upon the odds or the fighter, our bets range from classic favorite sandwiches, to hotdogs with unlimited toppings.
The bets swing from simple chicken dishes to, to fish or sushi rolls, and on occasion, we will go as far as surf and turf. And after each bout, we talk about the fight and meeting up to settle our debts.
We lost track of who owes what a long time ago—but the bets continue and the meals we wager have become Continue reading
“It’s gonna be a New Year,” said one of my bosses.
This did not come from one of the top bosses. It came from one of the assistant supervisors. “There’s gonna be some changes made around this place,” he said.
“I’m putting my foot down.”
I arrive at work the same time each morning. I come in early to ease myself into the process. I begin by putting my hand inside of a hand-scan, which reads my fingerprints, and starts my hours on the clock.
My next step is to an old gray door with vented louvers that take up one Continue reading
There is a fine line between us and the edge.
Sometimes we feel as if we are teetering over it . . . the edge, I mean.
I know this because I have visited this edge several times myself.
I recall standing at the driver’s side door of my car while parked in front of a momentary place I called home. I remember the stillness of my town during a quiet Sunday morning. I could hear the sound of Church bells nearby and felt an overwhelming sense of awareness as I awoke in the aftermath of my behavior.
I stood between myself and change. I was at a crossroad and Continue reading
