The Tiny, Tiny House

There is dancing, and there is parenting, and when a father and adult son find themselves living under one roof, it becomes a daily transition between those two. During the divorce, there was a thought the three of us would go our three separate ways. But common sense dictated my son stay and finish college …

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You Need to Go See

I enjoyed myself, time after time, across the 22 weeks of my trip. I've come to think this trick played a major role. Whenever anybody said “You need to eat at ...” or “You need to go see ..” a certain thing, I would. I would make every effort, if I had the time and …

My Upside Down Instincts .

I'm amazed by the law of opposites. Everyone knows the adage "If you want something done, ask a busy person" and "Good fences make good neighbors". The prophet Muhammad, pbuh, has an apocryphal story of him traveling every day on the same path. A neighbor would throw garbage in his path (or upon his head, …

Passing through the door …

Last night was a time of a sad transition for me personally. I spent it in quiet contemplation and mourning. Nothing to celebrate, like a funeral. No ball to spike, no endzone; and nobody to hold. I slipped off to the beach, long after dark. I emptied out a water bottle and refilled it half …

Breaking the Ice (Schrödinger’s Stalker) .

I was told, earlier this summer, that I'm the kind of person that “never met a stranger”. That was very insightful, but there is one caveat to that insight. The cold call. I can address a group of 100, I can do a public Q&A session without being fully prepared. I can confidently introduce somebody …

UU Monmouth: Cool RE Ceremony .

I witnessed a really cool RE ceremony at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth today, to honor the first week of the new RE semester. It was all based on surprise, and required that they have a rectangular sanctuary. When you make a toast at a wedding or say "ready, set, go" at a race, its …

Oh, My Aching Foot

My host Jack loves the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and attends all the home football games. So I took this sunny September Saturday and headed out to the beach again. It was great to sun myself, after being wrapped in the cocoon of safety gear all summer. Here's some background that I've kinda kept under wraps. …

Tell Me You’re Voting for Trump .

I escaped this summer's poisonous presidential election, in part, by taking my extended motorcycle trip. But running can only take me so far. I am a flaming liberal who at times considers Bernie Sanders to be a corporate shill. Jack, my host, teases out his political leanings, here and there, and it is no secret …

Dancing in Bare Feet .

I started ballroom dance lessons to gain poise, lose weight, and improve my crappy attitude (after 2 horrible months of 6am aerobics). I've had great success toward my poise, weight, and attitude, without actually becoming any good at dancing My career and knack for computation and details had made learning difficult. I made my poor dance instructor …

It will be ok, Jim .

I just had another bizarre encounter, here on my next to last day in Florida. I wasn't quite ready for bed, so I stopped at a small bar on the way home, figuring to listen to some music and relax for 30 minutes. I was sipping my orange juice like I do whenever I'm on …