Archive:
Essays
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My message in The Catcher in the Rye
I first read The Catcher in the Rye when most American kids do – when they are about Holden Caulfield’s age. By the time it became known to me, The Catcher in the Rye had long since fallen from its supposed high point in the American zeitgeist, esteemed for its reputation rather than actual relevance,…
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The Death of a Dream: Part 2
The election of 2024 is a testament to the failure of character and commitment by Americans both educated and uneducated, the ultimate consequence of their psycho-emotional estrangement from themselves. Of course, they were fertile ground for the lies that allayed their fears. The fear enabled them to buy into a financial pipe dream. The fear…
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The Death of a Dream: Part 1
Shortly after the election this month, I read about our national mourning. The article aptly asserted that millions of Americans had experienced a death: the death of a dream. The writer was referring to the emotional devastation so many were feeling about their candidate’s loss. It had been unthinkable in view of the seemingly unprecedented…
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Threat
I used to have a friend. I knew him for more than 25 years. We didn’t always agree on everything, but we had a kind of shared history. We lived through key life experiences at roughly the same times. As we drifted deeper into adulthood, our experiences diverged, but we would come back together time…
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Sliding Into Christmas
As I write this, I’m listening to a SomaFM internet radio channel called Department Store Christmas: Holiday Elevator Music from a more innocent time. There’s only so much Lite-FM (New York) one can stand. I’m enjoying the elevator music, especially the Ray Conniff Singers. They always remind me of Vietnam and the hustle and bustle…
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How TMJ took my hearing
Your TMJ muscles can mess with your head. It can be debilitating for musicians and audio engineers. Sometimes, the resolution just takes time.
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Election Day with the Antichrist
Antichrist, we hardly knew you. We thought we did. What silly kids we were. In the 80s, the Antichrist was one guy who we heard tell was soon to “walk the Earth.” Metalhead kids everywhere used the concepts of Satan and the Antichrist to taunt their parents. It was harmless fantasy. Most of the people…
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Most of us are sad
I have tried to write this piece on many occasions. It has been difficult to get the words to come. Just when I think I’ve captured it, something else occurs to me. What follows is where I must leave it. About a month ago, I had the most peculiar feeling as we went about our…
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The Chess King
In the summer of 1982, I was eleven years old. For one day, I garnered the unofficial title of Chess King. No one called me that, and it wasn’t even that I was unseated after that day. It just ceased to be relevant, as many things are wont to do amid the breakneck pace kept…