Living Proof

Simplicity is hard to achieve, and yet it sounds so simple. It's not. There's no such thing as a peaceful and quiet life. The simple things start acting up: small and major appliances start to breakdown, roof repairs due to leaks, schedules that push away family and friends, a loved one gets ill, a loved one passes, and on and on. Life isn't made to be simple. I found that out the hard way. Yes, they tell me to 'dance in the rain' and 'be calm during the storm', but sometimes, it's kind of frustrating when it feels like you just never get a break from any of these 'small inconveniences' in life. And when the big inconveniences come waltzing through -- you're just dumbfounded. You get the hazy mile long stare and lose hope of anything good; anything simple. It seems impossible. And then there's faith. Things aren't always what they seem. Sometimes I call it the "rose colored glasses syndrome" because I have held my

Back in the day when I used to frequent gay bars around the area, I rarely took note on who was straight, bi, gay or lesbian. All I knew was that it was a place that accepted gays and lesbians - it was a place that accepted me. Anyone else who wasn't gay or lesbian were more than welcome to come join us. It wasn't a big deal, unless the person was some sort of pervert harassing the clientele -- that's a different story. That can happen anywhere. When my wife and I go to places like Provincetown, 90% of all bars and restaurants are gay and lesbian clientele, who are also "straight friendly" --- meaning, they accept everyone. We don't judge you by your orientation, because we don't like it being done to us when we walk into a straight establishment. Makes sense, right? June Thomas, a writer and critic for an online magazine called, Slate , feels a bit differently. In fact, she feels that heterosexual people should not even walk into a gay establishment

It should be okay, I mean -- why wouldn't it be? Nobody cares if you're gay, straight, transexual or bisexual, right? It's strange to have this preconception that most of the world is accepting, until a celebrity outs their true opinion over their distaste in the homosexual lifestyle. That's when you see the world coming out with their own opinions and religious beliefs, condemning the LGBT people to hell. This is exactly why I'm not a "show & tell" type of person. I'm not in the closet, but if you ask if I'm married, I will say "yes" --- and that's it. I don't know your beliefs or opinions on whether or not you think being gay is a sin or it's just "gross" or whatever you may think. And why should anyone care what anyone thinks? For me, it's about safety. Safety from a possible hate crime, safety from maybe some perverted idiot or safety from just people who'll attack me with mere words and of

There's something to be said about Good Friday. It's not about fasting or sustaining from meat of any kind, but it's more about observing the day itself. If you choose to avoid meat on this day, then great. That's a personal choice in my opinion, just as giving something up for Lent is. Today is one of the most precious days of all -- the day Jesus died for us. He knew he would die today. I can't even fathom that. I think about all of my imperfections as a sinner: I drink too much, I curse too much and I can be cranky at times -- and although I am learning day by day what's best for me and what not to do in life, He still forgives me anyway. He has given me the gift of life just by what He did for all of us today. One on one, we talk about my challenges as a Christian and let me tell you -- it's amazing how much He has blessed me with overcoming certain problems in my life. By faith, I am saved. By faith, you are saved. And it's all because of tod

A while back, I did a Grammar Nazi post, but in an entirely different light. This one's a bit different, but I will still entitle this as a "part 2". Lately, I've been doing some side work on editing essays and other write ups for other people. I always let them know that there may be a sentence or two that'll need restructuring, or in most cases, correction on simple grammatical errors. I always ask, "Do you mind being critiqued or corrected?" The answer is usually a solid, 'not at all' , so I give it my all, expecting the person to be okay with whatever feedback comes flying their way. I feel comfortable writing this, knowing that this isn't a personal attack on anyone, but more of an observation of other people's style of writing. I do everything from essays, bios and articles for submission. Most people who give me their work are college students and graduates who are looking to get their foot in the door. In my opinion, there is

They did a census that discovered that 80% of people admitted to self-medicating themselves with alcohol due to stress, and the other 20% lied. About 5 years ago, I did a 90 day "clean out" and went to AA for support. My moderated drinking had turned out to be moderation at first, but I was quite the weekend warrior and I needed it to stop. So, I shuffled into some church basement and sat amongst longtime veterans who have been sober for 20+ years, and some who only were sober for the past 12 hours or so. I remember one lady who befriended me. She was only there for a month or so. She would drink a couple of glasses of wine while she cooked dinner for her family and during dinner, she'd have 1 or 2. I'm sitting there thinking, "Okay, who forced you to come here?" To me, that just seems like nothing. Then I thought, there's approximately 3-4 glasses of wine in a bottle, so…maybe it is something? Maybe she just needs a bigger glass? She was raising 4 kid

It's just human nature that people in general can get cranky once in a while. Sometimes it's due to issues at home, work or just something in their genetics that make them just a plain sonuvabitch.  I try to look past it and not take it so personally. It bothers me more if a loved one gets all pissy with me. Then I wonder, hmmm, why are they so agitated? And then I obsess about it and of course, usually take it personally. But I've learned, it's not how they treat you, it's how you respond to it. My response has gotten better lately…kind of. I try to just remain calm, wait a day or two and if it passes, wonderful. If it doesn't, I usually avoid that person entirely. I mean, the best thing I can do is ask the person if they have an issue with me, but I don't, and that's my choice and that's their problem if they can't address something like a human. They can stew all they want in their bitter juices. (And there's my cranky part kicking in