Not New -Just Renewed! — I’ve walked this planet for 66 years, and hope to stay around for another 34 — then, I’ll reevaluate! This from someone who wasn’t expected to reach age 30, and hoped to live down to that expectation! I didn’t trust anyone over 30 then — so I never wanted to…

A Dance that Changed Me Forever 1971 was a pretty wild year for me. I was 16 for most of the year, turning 17 in November. I had started drinking in 1970, at age 15, when I got a job in a restaurant. I was one of the younger busboys…

Drinking from the Grail — Comes a time when you’re drifting Comes a time when you settle down Comes a light, feelings lifting Lift that baby right up off the ground Oh, this old world keeps spinning ‘round It’s a wonder tall trees ain’t layin’ down There comes a time… You and I, we were…

She’s still here, in my heart — Yesterday would’ve been Mom’s 99th birthday. Her birthday and Mother’s Day were two of the things that always made May cool. Of course, since she’s been gone, going on 11 years now, I still always think about her in May. …

A Life-Changing Decision I always joked that it was hard to come up with something new that none of my older siblings had ever done. …

One Early Spring Saturday — My I-Phone alarm went off at 7:45. I know this because my wife told me it was going off. It was blending right into whatever dream I was having. I didn’t have to be anywhere in particular until 9:00, so I reset it for 8:00. This time, I heard it…

Triple Extra Large — (or 43 Years Clean)! — I really wanted to keep it low-key this year. I’m just so grateful to even be alive! After my most recent close call with my own mortality, gratitude seemed enough — I didn’t need all the hoopla that often seems to surround my clean date. Plus, I still am very…

Just to be on the safe side This morning, the good news was, my Troponin levels that were high last night hadn’t trended any higher. (Troponin can be a marker in the blood of something happening to the heart). They knew this because they drew blood every few hours throughout the night to check it. …

How Does it Feel to Have a New Lease? — “So how does it feel to have a new lease on life?” Honestly, I didn’t know that my old lease was almost up, until I found out after the fact that I’d nearly bought the farm. …