A Better Life

Today marks 10 years since I put my ex-wife on a plane to Las Vegas.  A trip that was presented to me as going with friends (married couples) but in actuality and most deceptively was a ruse to spend time with her boy toy who I believe she ultimately married.  Adding pain to agony, I also paid for approximately $600 in Harley-Davidson t-shirts according to a reliable source.  This was but a step toward my life separated from my possessions but that ultimately freed my soul to join with the love of my life.  When reviewing the events of that faithful year (2009) I see that a decision was made for me that I would have never chosen for myself.  The divorce agonizing not just for me but for all those around me as is the case in these experiences.  No man is an island, Jack indeed.  It started with the discovery of an email that my wife had received from a divorce attorney, culminating in an agreement that haunts me to this day.  The key word for t...

Last night as my wife is wont to do, she suggested watching a movie together.  Now as a dutiful husband, I complied happily, at first.  So we are watching "Sleepless in Seattle" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.  Lovely movie, a little unrealistic but lovely just the same.  So, okay so this is nice and enjoyable but then comes "League of Their Own" with Tom Hanks again.  Now, this being a sports movie, it should be fine but then on finer inspection it comes across as a bonafide movie that mainly females would enjoy (colloquially known as a "Chick Flick" - no offense intended). Sleepless in Seattle also qualifies but I have to say the Sappiness index (my own creation) goes skyward with "A League of Their Own" because first, it is about a problem that the baseball owners faced during World War II when their best players were tapped to serve in the armed services.  What is a baseball owner to do?  Create a league of women players, of course!  They were...

As I prepare to attend the comic styling's of one Gary Owen this weekend at the Addison Improv outside of Dallas, TX, I am drawn to the ever present question, what is so entertaining about stand up comedy? Gary Owen has a take that I can so relate to since we are both from humble beginnings and married to women of a more favorable complexion.  His routine about going to a child's baptism at an African-American church is so on point.  My wife's cousin's little boy was being baptized and I kid you not we were there for 3 full hours and yes there was a step team to boot. On the regular, I will binge watch some of my favorite stand ups from the days of yore on YouTube.  Among my favorites are Steven Wright (deadpan at it's best)  Sam Kinison (snort a line and you too can wail like a banshee)  Robin Williams (tragic but oh so funny)  Richard Pryor (remembering sneaking a listen to him back in the 70's as a kid)  Chris Rock (just a funny dude with ...

Back a few years ago, when I was going through a divorce, I had a blog.  Yes, I jumped on the proverbial bandwagon and it was cool.  I had about 300 followers and everything was working well.  The articles were of the lifestyle variety, you know the type, top 10 reasons my life sucks more now than before, a review of the best mental wards for depression, just a flow of consciousness pieces. Fast forward to last year, when I discovered a couple of blogs I had set up and forgotten.  They were on the blogger platform including this blog and there was some traffic.  Nothing spectacular but some page views on a few articles someone found interesting enough to click on.  Now I combined the blogs for this blog and now I find that getting followers is much more difficult. In my mind, blogging is a great past time but making money, the kind of money everyone talks about.  Like leave your 6 figure salary job for the easy life of a blogger just doesn't exist ...

So, now that I have my bonus and raise, we (my wife and I) have decided on some goals: New Furniture (we are still using the furniture we each had before we were married 4 years ago) New Mattress (our current one is that one I bought for myself over 6 years ago) Newer Car (our current vehicle is showing its age at 180,000+ miles) Travelling at least once a quarter So now, we have achieved the first 2 items on the list which is great but now we must find a car and time to travel. The car I get since our current one is starting to have random issues, as one will once hitting 180,000+ miles. As far as travel is concerned, not my favorite activity since all travel is linked to visiting one of her friends who I don’t know or have only met once. Very awkward and quite expensive. In addition to these goals, we are to be debt free by the end of the year. So, each trip amounts to about $1,000 and on top of that we are to rid ourselves of all debt. Right. I will get right on it. Unfortu...

So, you go through a horrible divorce and you meet a wonderful woman who helps you through a bit of the pain once the dust has settled.  You think, I could be happy with her.  You date, you get to know each other, uncovering all manner of skeletons in each others proverbial closets since you are not 20 but 30 odd years down the road further. So stuff has happened.  In her case, a couple of daughters.  One is in college and the other in graduate school.  Great, you think, a visit here and there maybe a pending wedding or two in the not so distant future.  You get along with the daughters and they are excited their mother has found someone, maybe not as complexion compatible as they would have expected but they deal.  Now a little while later a baby is on the way.  The parents are in no way prepared for this eventuality so the child becomes a semi-regular resident in your home.  At first with the mother and then on her own.  So fast forwar...

It's always the question people ask me.  Where do you go to get away from your problems?  Everyone assumes my life must be difficult due to my divorce and you know what they are right.  Below are a few pictures of where I go to seek serenity from the madness of the day:     Sometimes you just need a walk in the park to embrace fresh air, nature and your own thoughts.  I find my mind calms down a good bit when I take a walk.