Category: Life

  • Can’t Stop Watching the News (Unedited)

    I have been fighting very hard to not live in an echo chamber. Though it does feel like the whole world is out to get more, or at least push me into a corner. Trying to stay balanced is tricky, because as we all know, if you search too much of one subject, the Algorithm thinks that’s what you want to see all the time. Or, as a friend pointed out to me, our TVs are listening to us now, so I try to watch what I say around the set, as to not send the wrong message to the AI Overlords.

    I say all of this because the midterm elections are three weeks away, and I am getting anxious about the possible outcomes. I’m not sure I can put my whole faith in the coming “Blue Tsunami” as it might just end up being a “Blue Drop.” Having grown up in Texas, and first hand witnessing that state change from Blue to the deepest of reds, I have a hard time believing that anyone with a D next to their name is going to win a state wide election there. (If Jesus was running with a D, he’d lose in a landslide to an R Satan.) And I can’t shake the feelings that there will be Trump shenanigans the day after the election; claims of voter fraud, and court cases, and attempts to seize votes, or claim that certain winners should be sworn in and seated. You know, normal Trump stuff.

    All this makes me anxious, anxious, anxious.

    I will say this; I do believe that just about everybody (70% or so) is fed up with the state of politics in this country. From government not working, to affordability, to healthcare, to people no longer being civil to each other – I do think people are ready, and yearning for things to change. And change for the better. A change that moves us forward. Not one party over the other, but getting back to having faith in each other and working together.

    Only the hardest core of each side enjoys the state we’re in, and I dare say they only enjoy it because they are profiting off of it. The rest of us? I think we’d like to have a friendly debate, and then compromise on a solution.

    You know; the way it’s supposed to be.

  • The Apples Were Picked

    My family went apple picking this weekend. My daughter even brought a friend, so we had an extra person to help enjoy our Autumnal Tradition. And there was a hay ride (Actually, no hay was involved, but no one cared) and a core maze, a pumpkin patch, and apple cider donuts. There were food trucks as well, but those don’t interest me.

    What interests me is putting on a flannel shirt on a warm Fall morning, and sweating too much, as I stomp and trip over rotten apples on the ground, looking for that one unplundered Golden Delicious apple tree that’s hidden way in the back of the orchard. And I also enjoy eating an apple a day for the next month, and wonder at the benefits of my increased fiber intake!

    I was rather excited to be there

    The whole thing is cheesy and cliched, and I love it so much! As the kid and her friend were running around the corn maze, I told the wife that I know that we won’t be doing this forever with the kid. She’ll either outgrow it, or move away. But, I would like to still come out and do this; walk around the orchards, watching the families and their little ones enjoy the fifteen to twenty minutes of pleasure they all get picking fruit from a tree.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Political Ads, Sports, and Apple Picking

    (You’re good, so good…)

    We are now under 30 days from the Midterm elections, and if you are like me, you’ve had your fill of the political ads. There is no way to avoid them, as they seem to have invaded every for and medium out there. This time around, the kid has started paying attention, and asking questions, which is good. Her game is trying to figure out which political party a candidate is with, being that in almost all the ads, no one specifies anymore. All of these additional conversations with my daughter have been great but lead me to ask her a very important question; “Are you excited to vote when you turn 18?” Which she quickly answered, “No.”

    The Dallas Cowboys suck this season. And the Cubs got swept outta the playoffs, super quick. I don’t have high hopes that Tottenham will have righted the ship after this International break. So… I’m not having a good sports month. It’s an October Slog. In fact, when I was out shopping last week, a store clerk asked me why I was out in public with a Tottenham hat on. “Why are you announcing your shame to everyone?” he asked. I didn’t take it personal, he was an Arsenal fan.

    That’s right, I’m again doing the very cheesy and cliché thing! I’m going up the Hudson Valley to take my family apple picking. Oh, I love how silly, and over crowed, and just basic this tradition is. But you know what I really love? Apple Cider Donuts! Eating apples off a tree! Putting on a flannel shirt, and walking around in mud! It’s my Rites of Autumn! May it live forever!

  • Short Story Review: “A Very Safe Place” by Rachel Heng

    (The short story “A Very Safe Place” by Rachel Heng appeared in the October 12th, 2026 Issue of The New Yorker.)

    (Illustration by Vanessa Saba; Source photographs from Getty)

    Rachel Heng’s “A Very Safe Place” is a timely story. Set in Singapore, it confronts the complicated situation of immigration; Its motivations, what constitutes doing the right thing, and the threat of punishment. It also is about a child coming to see the world for what it is, and how disappointing and confusing that can be. All of these are themes and ideas that I applaud in a story – especially one that aims to be as realistic as possible. There is no happy ending here, or nice bow that will wrap everything together. Though sober and stark in its writing, it’s an honesty that is needed when speaking on this subject.

    The story left me feeling melancholic, like there was a dark cloud hanging over all of it. Another way to describe it, is that this story is colored in black in white. Not in a moralistic simplicity, but more for the starkness and complexity of these issues presented. (Like how a black and white movie seems more realistic than color.) The good father who has to make a difficult decision for the safety of his family, a mother whose rigidness keeps her family protected, an immigrant striving for a better life, and a boy slowly coming to understand that the world is filled with complications that aren’t easy to square.

    But, unfortunately, that melancholic started to veer into joylessness as the story neared its end, which made this average length story feel like a trudge. My mind did wander and wonder when this was going to wrap up? That was due to the story playing at one dramatic note of seriousness, with nothing to break the tension, or even to play with fluctuating the tone.

    In the end, “A Very Safe Place” is another good story from Rachel Heng. Where it succeeds most is showing how the boy discovers the larger world he now lives in. Hopefully, this encounter will lead him to a life filled with empathy and compassion, regardless of the consequences.

  • Earworm Wednesday: I Just Never Liked the Song

    I would like to believe that I am not a contrarian. That if I don’t like or enjoy something, it’s because I have a good reason for it.

    In that vein, I have never been a fan of “Waterfalls” by TLC. I have nothing against TLC, I think they’re a solid group. And I fully admit that “Waterfalls” is a good pop-music song, and deserves all the recognition and alcolades it has earned.

    But I just never liked the song. Sorry.

    Yet, “Waterfalls” does have have a hell of a hook in its chorus. When I hear it, like yesterday at Trader Joe’s, it just lodges in my head. Which means I am on day two of humming that song.