There is too much flash in this new century. There is too much advancement in technology; too many apps, too many cellphones, and too many empty playgrounds.
There are too many ways to communicate, yet our communication with each other seems to be dwindling and left in the less personal hands of text messaging.

A young girl with a piercing in her lip looked Continue reading →

I sat in the back of a Greyhound Bus with hours of travel ahead of me and nothing else but time to consider my young life. I was trying to reconnect the good times and separate them from the bad.
In the fifth month of my early sobriety, I was heading home to say farewell to The Old Man.  By this time, the fog in my head was beginning to lift. I was less angry and more aware. I was learning about Continue reading →

I had another one of those dreams again. Everything seemed so real and so vivid….
After a violent act, I felt as though someone pulled the plug and I was funneling down a horrible drain.
There was no turning back or ways to apologize for what I did.
It was too late for that.
The damage was done and the blood on my hands became very real. Suddenly, the games I played were Continue reading →

America,
I do not blame you for the anger.
I blame me.
I blame the society I live in
I blame the silently growing machine—
the one that comes from both sides, creates controversy,
boils, and overflows into the streets

I blame the aftermath of our ignorance. I blame the uneducated
and the Continue reading →

The Old Man warmed the truck early. He told me, “Dress warm, kid,” and then he ran outside to start his Ford Bronco.
As he turned the key in the ignition, the quiet morning shook with the deep rumbling sound of a truck’s engine.

It was wintertime and Merrick Avenue was quiet. The sun began Continue reading →

The hardest place to start is at the bottom.
The hardest step is the first and the hardest room to sit in is an empty one that was once full. I associate my feelings at this point with the realization of how far I fell and combined this with all that I lost.

I was on my own and there was no one around but me. There were no decorations on the wall, pictures of smiling faces, or family photos. There was nothing but the echoes of a vacant two-bedroom apartment. I went from a half acre, Continue reading →

Yesterday was one of those quiet days…..
It was the kind to watch the snowfall from my living room window. It was a good day to stay at home, eat food, and watch movies.
After the sun went down, the Christmas lights brightened our street and the grounds were covered in a blanket of white.
I saw this as peaceful.

I watched the snowfall into the late hours of night and found myself Continue reading →

Before I go on, the term loyalty is often relative. The honor amongst thieves is seldom as strong as the bars that cage them. And furthermore, a man’s word is only a man’s word.
A man’s word is the same as his checking account at the bank. So long as the funds are valid; his check is good. But let him overdraw and the check bounces.

I sat with my back against the wall and my left wrist was cuffed to Continue reading →

What I was thinking on my way to the Emergency Room this morning:

In the early hours of daylight, I watch a train curving left on its track.

The train crawls at an approaching speed; it cuts through the winter air, and pulls into the raised platform of the Hicksville Train Station.
In the background, scattered Continue reading →

Be advised: names in this post have been changed to protect the less-innocent

Walking through Grand Central Station, I passed an old familiar smell. The smell was from a fragrance in the mid to late 80’s called Drakkar Noir. In an instant, I was reminded of the summertime in Prospect Park. I remembered the better days of my teenage mischief, swiping liquor, and drinking in Continue reading →