When I was a teenager, I remember a few days when I woke up for school full of energy, incredibly upbeat and almost jittery with excitement. Later that day, I’d see flashes of light (like after an old school camera flash went off in your eyes) and then I’d start to get a headache. That…
My Friend The Hypochondriac
My friend is a hypochondriac. He has three different health insurance plans. He sees a doctor at least once a quarter for a “regular” checkup. He gets blood work drawn, gets more inoculations than he needs, has been in therapy for over 10 years, sees a physical therapist and chiropractor regularly and much more. He…
Freedom From Fear
When I’m talking to my mother, she’ll often say, “That must have been really scary” or “That must make you feel very afraid”. She’s wrong. Every time. I am afraid of nothing. I used to be afraid. Afraid of losing what I had. Afraid of not being able to take care of my wife. Afraid…
Want Not Waste Not
When visited the Apple Store at the local mall for a laptop repair, I planned to check out the North Face store. Since most of my clothing is “survival, hiking and climbing” gear, I thought I might find something I liked. Nope. The store was fine. It had shoes, pants, jackets, coats, shirts and gear….
Mall-content
I visited a mall for the first time in 3 years this week. The last time I visited a mall was when I needed to go to the Apple store in Tucson after my iPhone died when I was living on the road. Coincidentally, this week’s mall visit was to go to the Apple store…
Putting Your Best Text Forward
Recently I read a message from a friend I met online several years ago. My friend said that he considered me family. As flattered as I am for his kind words, I disagree. We are not family. In fact, through my dating misadventures, I’ve come to realize that communicating through online messaging, reading blogs, dating…
TikTok
Over the past two weeks while I was recovering from my foot injury, I spent more time messing around on the Internet. What I’ve seen is that news sites now report on TikTok videos – much in the same way they report on tweets from Twitter. As if either is news. They are not. Often…
Talking To Strangers
During most of the first dates I had with women I met on the dating apps we had good conversations. Even during the dates that were somewhat like interrogations, our conversations flowed freely. We laughed and smiled a lot. We shared both casual and deep experiences. I was never at a loss for words and…
Expert Advice
Fearing I had torn a tendon in my foot, I saw an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in foot and ankle injuries last week. He did 3 xrays, spent a solid 10 minutes listening as I described my injury, what I suspected led up to it and my activity levels. Then he looked at my foot…
Stuck
I have been wearing Merrell shoes for 20 years. I fell in love with them because they were impervious to the sloppy, wet winter conditions in Pittsburgh, they had super sticky traction on mud, ice and snow, and they fit great. Over the years, I noticed some changes. The cushioning, while never super soft, got…