Saturday, April 27, 2013
Perhaps sharing my experiences with anxiety will help you cope!
I see myself as a fairly stable guy. I may be looking through jaded eyes, so my point of view might be skewed; but all in all I think I’m doing alright. Of course, that may be a problem in itself – thinking we’re ‘doing alright’. I suppose most of us think that way. But anyway, I’m sticking to my guns on this one. I’ll probably be investigated now because I said ‘guns’ on the internet. As I mentioned in a column I penned some time ago, I’m going to write a book based upon Dr. Thomas Harris’ best-seller, I’m Okay, You’re Okay. My version will be entitled, I’m Okay, You’re A Whack-Job. So you see my point, right? Most of us think we’re just fine, but there are those who think we’re ‘a few ants short of a picnic’. Perspective my friend – …
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Bob is determined to rekindle his creativity with daily ramblings in his blog.
I just read Steven Pressfield’s, Do The Work for the third time; sitting in a doctor’s office, thumbing through the coffee stained pages, hungry for an answer; looking for the key; that tiny paragraph; that well-turned phrase that will be the elixir; the cure for my creative ills. I’ve been a bit discouraged lately. Most of my freelance work has dried up and it’s sapping my creative energy; my passion for my work. I retired from ‘the real world’ {which is a gross misnomer} just over two-years ago. Things were good. I had enough freelance work to replace my income and my plan was falling into place. I was excited – hopeful. And then, within about eighteen-months, as quickly as the work had come; it came to a screeching, unceremonious halt…
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Are you thinking of looking for a cottage rental on the Internet? Buyer beware! Check out what happened to my wife and me a few years back!
I’m writing this the day before our two-week respite on the beautiful island of Georgetown, Maine, comes to an end. Did I say, “island?” Well, it is an island in the technical sense. It is, in fact, separated from the mainland by a body of water, the Back River, which empties into the mighty Atlantic some eight miles downstream, but its accessibility to Maine-proper via a bridge slightly diminishes the island feel. My wife, Berta, and I discovered this place online while searching the Internet for an escape from the rigors of the world. Ah, the magic carpet ride that is the Internet. Allowing one to go where no man has gone before – or was that Star Trek? Enabling one to leap tall buildings in a single bound. OK, that was Superman. But …
Friday, March 15, 2013
My annual take on the derivation of the expression, Beware The Ides Of March
Caesar: Who is it in the press that calls on me? I hear a tongue shriller than all the music Cry “Caesar!” Speak; Caesar is turn’d to hear. Soothsayer: Beware the ides of March. Caesar: What man is that? Brutus: A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March. In this scene from one of Bill Shakespeare’s greatest works, Julius Caesar, a soothsayer warns ole’ Jules to be wary of March 15th, the ides of March, which is the very day that he is to be assassinated by the conspirators who have plotted against him. But, in spite of his wife’s nightmares of his murder, the admonition of the soothsayer and numerous warnings; Caesar goes out on the ides and meets his fate. Here’s my version of what transpires. Caesar, who has grown extremely …
Saturday, March 9, 2013
The columnist shares a reflective moment.
“In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can …
Sunday, February 24, 2013
The columnist isn’t a big fan of shopping and after what happened to him on a recent trip to Target, we can’t really say we blame him. See if you agree.
When women are depressed they either eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. ~ Elayne Boosler I was at Target last week doing some shopping, or rather being dragged along as my wife did some shopping for our grandson, Logan, for some back to pre-school clothes. Yes, that’s part of what grandparents do. I don’t shop in the truest sense of the word. I go to the store that has what I want. I find it. I buy it. I leave. That’s how it’s done, or at least how it should be done. Walking around for two or three hours looking at things doesn’t cut it with me. I have no interest in looking at things I don’t intend to buy. I don’t even understand that concept. It makes no sense to me. I guess I have the hunter instinct. For the most …
Sunday, February 3, 2013
The columnist was among the missing this week, but we finally found him running naked in the wilderness eating locusts and honey. What’s that all about?
I’m tired. Not tired as in sleepy; tired as in worn out, beaten down, tramped under foot. I’m going through changes. Have you ever been through this? I think we’ve probably all had times in our lives when we feel like everything is spinning out of control, or maybe more like everything that’s spinning out of control is in control. I had a membership at the Attleboro YMCA in the middle 1980’s when I worked at the Sun Chronicle in Attleboro. I worked out at lunchtime nearly every day during the week. I usually sat in the steam room for ten or fifteen minutes following my workouts to help loosen up my tight muscles and help me relax. On one particular day, I decided I’d try the dry heat of the sauna as opposed to the moist heat of the …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
The columnist gives us his take on what he sees as the insidious deterioration of our language skills – and a few other things.
Every American child should grow up knowing a second language, preferably English. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960 I have one endearing trait that I’m extremely proud of. I have an innate ability to write about things that other people think, but are afraid to say for fear of retribution. I hold to the philosophy of, Retribution be damned! Full speed ahead! But as proud as I am to be an up-front kind of guy; this attribute has caused me my share of problems in the past. When I lived in Arizona back in the mid to late seventies, my brother-in-law and I were frequent visitors at the Wander Inn, a fine-dining establishment just outside of Phoenix. Okay, it was more of a sleazy bar than a fine-dining spot; a redneck bar …
Saturday, January 12, 2013
The columnist confesses to a blatant caffeine addiction and a propensity for being a bit snippy in the early morning hours.
If it weren't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever.” ~ David Letterman I’m not a morning person; never have been; probably never will be. The only good thing about the morning is coffee; lots and lots of coffee. Other than that - mornings stink! My animosity toward the morning hours isn’t grounded in an explicit aversion for getting out of bed. I’m up fairly early every day, even on the weekends I’m up between 5:45 and 6:00. If I happen to sleep until 6:30 on Saturday or Sunday, I consider that sleeping-in. No, I don’t mind getting out of bed. But I do mind being incoherent for two to three hours after I get up, even after slugging down 32 ounces of coffee. I don’t get it! Why do I have so much trouble …
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Our columnist has had a trying week, but emerges from his funk just in time to share a cherished memory, give you a few laughs (hopefully) and rant a bit. Fasten your seat belts.
This has been a tough week for me from a writing perspective. Writing is a high priority for me, not just because it’s my vocation, but because I love it. It’s my passion. This week I’ve been busy doing things around the house that should have been done long ago; things I’ve put off far beyond the point of procrastination. I’m not certain what the word for ‘beyond procrastination’ is, but I’m sure there is one. Let’s call it ultra-procrastination for now. It’s not that I’m lazy; it’s just that, as a former colleague once wrote in his column - When it comes to manual dexterity, I’m right up there with snakes. I’m not real handy around the house. God knows I try. It’s just not my thing. I believe it’s genetic. I remember watching my father…
Bob Havey
2:28 pm on Monday, April 29, 2013
You're a nutball. I admire that! :-) more ›