They told me the big black Lab's name was Reggie as I looked at him lying in his pen. The shelter was clean, no-kill, and the people really friendly. I'd only been in the area for six months, but everywhere I went in the small college town, people were welcoming and open. Everyone waves when you pass them on the street. But something was still missing as I attempted to settle in to my...

Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said:    "THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?"   A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.   To Whom It May...

I'm not a person given to self doubt. But honestly? I didn't think I'd make it. I'd read many accounts of other swimmers, faster than me, better trained than me, and a lot of them didn't make it across even though they appeared to do everything right. They'd get hypothermic after 12 hours, be swept miles out after coming within half a mile of French soil, or suffer hours of vomiting only...

     I found out that she died quite by accident.      One of my gals had called to tell me that two of her husband's coworkers were among the number of those killed in a local tragedy here last night.  As she asked me to pray for the families involved and their company and gave me their names, I froze while writing the second....it is quite...

Random Thoughts of the Day: * I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option. * More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me. * Nothing sucks more than that moment during an...

       Last night at 6:30 pm I was asked at the last minute to fill in for a friend and lead a Beginners AA Meeting at a nearby Church. My friend had become very ill after eating Supper and was in no way able to go to his weekly Commitment. I managed to get there by 7 PM and lead the Meeting.        The Beginners were only about 8 in number...

Today was great. Chris actually came to see me, what a suprise. i wasnt to thrilled at first about him coming but once he had been here a while i realised just how much i missed him. he brought a bottle of vodka and then we went shop for coke and saw "Shop-Girl" who we both agreed was really pretty. we came back mine, played some cod chatted about random shit, ordered some food (too...

When I was a kid, growing up in the late '80s and early '90s, I listened mostly to oldies. The greatest hits of the '50s and '60s- everything from Fats Domino to the Beatles, to Elvis (who died thirty-two years ago today), to Strawberry Alarm Clock, to CCR, to the Doors. I found myself often wondering: How long does something have to be out to be an oldie? What will be considered...

When the day began the five of us were what we wanted people to see us as; a brain, an athlete, a princess, a basket case, and a criminal. The truth was that ever since our early teens we had discovered in each other the most singular and powerful connection that gave us more in common than any group in the entire world. We are all the most devout servants of the great C’thulhu. In spite...

It's only sometimes in your life that you get to wake up in the morning and realize what a beautiful gift that it is just to open your eyes once more. have you ever stopped and thought about all the families that have to deal with a loss today because as sure as there is a Heaven and Hell that's the truth people live and die, it's the natural way to world cleans itself and God takes his...