Poverty is a slow-walked demolition of the human spirit. Extreme poverty, not so slow. Those who have not experienced want at this level lack capacity to conceive and to empathize beyond a basic understanding of the meaning of words. Forced choices driven solely by financial considerations. Choosing between paying a power bill and traveling to see your children. Using baking soda to brush teeth, solve digestive ails, clean stains and laundry, and more- not because it works bu

So crazy, beat the strain. Too lazy, shake the gray. So as she willed the rain. So let me be defamed. Your redundancy stains. Tired of infantile claims. Like puppets on a string. Untangle you from me... So crazy, feel the hate. Yeah, I've got years to wait. I know it's not too late. Lending clean hands of fate. Rise from the dirt I'm in. Hide in another's skin. Stick black dress doll with pin. Your mouth takes on my grin... Time to call the doggies off. Tired of the shadowin'

I'm calling Bullshit on the whole "My Truth" thing. Beginning with my own "my Truth". Over the past 3-4 years, through all the therapy, all the counseling, all the recovery, all the doctors and assessments and diagnosis, all the darkness, all the void...I recall a lot of people talking to me about "my truth". About learning to speak my truth...to know it, see it, understand it, articulate it, defend it, and damn near deify it. Bladdidy blah blah... Here's the thing: I don't v

"Bought a ticket for a runaway train, like a madman laughing at the rain... A little out of touch...a little insane...just easier than dealing with the pain." -from Runaway Train, by Soul Asylum Here's a few facts: approximately 5–12% of all hospital emergency department visits are related to mental health conditions, and 20-30% of these persons require hospitalization and extended intervention. I am a statistic. Between late summer and early fall of 2024, I experienced a se

In relationships, in religion, in business…hell, in LIFE…value doesn’t dissipate. It shifts from one place to another. If I have $100 and buy a bag of corn chips, the value of the $100 has not decreased. A portion of it was simply shifted, or moved, from currency to food. My $100 still exists…it’s just now fragmented, exploited, and exchanged. And to whatever extent the corn chips do not satisfy me, then that’s really just my problem since I chose to convert a fragment of my

I recently visited Hart Mountain in Oregon and Mount Shasta in California. Hart Mountain is situated in the most remote area in the lower 48. Standing on that high plateau in the dark of night, I saw more stars than I’d ever seen. Mount Shasta, at 12,603 feet was even darker and more spectacular. I was reminded how truly small we are. We forget….our high tech fast paced society driven by mass hysterical consumerism is a massive and intentional distraction that keeps our eyes

A man had a son. He didn’t have much to give, but he gave what he could. The father had always been present, as the best version of himself he was capable of being at the time. He made mistakes and always tried to learn from them and pass along what he learned. He gave his son the best parts of himself. And tried to warn him of the worst. When he reached a certain age, the son questioned the father. He took all the father had given, and he went and lived his life. As he aged

Between the ages of 5 and 8, I had a friend who lived next door named Joey. Joey was fun to play with. Like all kids, we played, argued, fought, cried, played, argued, fought, cried, played….. I remember one time we were fighting. I don’t remember why. He screamed something and turned to walk away. As he was about 10 feet away, I saw something on the ground and threw it at him. Didn’t think, just threw. It was a hatchet. Oh shit. As it spun head over hilt in slow motion, I r