--IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW

 

…I never thought I’d say this, but the truth is:  I’ve got a lot of time on my hands.

…Sometimes people confuse me with Bobby Sands.  Go figure.

…Last night, those stars were shining like the lights on Broadway, and the moon had nothing on them.  Not a thing.

…If you really want to know how I’m doing, stop by here and try not to panic.

…I know it’s hard to understand the way I’m living.  But look—at least I’m typing something.

…I’m coming out of my cage and I’m doing just fine.

…I kind of give a damn.  I kind of don’t care.

…I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier.

…My brothers were soldiers.  I’ve always respected that about them.  Some of the sacrifices they made were life changing.  It takes a lot of courage to do what they did.  When others were doing everything they could to avoid the draft, one of my brothers enlisted.  After his four years were over, he actually re-upped.  Said he’d do it all over again, despite all the horror he lived through.  Now that’s a hero.

…I confess, whenever I hear the opening riff to The Killers’ song, “Mr. Brightside,” I get chills… He takes off her dress now…I just can’t look, it’s killing me.  I mean, yikes, right?

…WHEN HARRY MET SALLY wasn’t a favorite film of mine, but I do find myself thinking about certain parts of the movie, from time to time, like the orgasm scene (“I’ll have what she’s having”), like the theme--how men and women can’t really be friends.  I think that’s both wrong and right at the same time.  I’ve got quite a few female friends, some very close, and it’s all completely platonic and copacetic.

…It started out with a kiss.  How did it end up like this?  It was only a kiss?

…What I thought was going to be the death of me was my saving grace.

…The rain keeps tapping on the window, trying to get my attention.  What’s that all about?

…I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being a little bombastic, if you’ve got it in you, if you’ve got the nerve, if you can back it up at least.

…If we were brave enough to admit it, we’d realize we’re all hypocrites.  I know I am sometimes.  (Hypocrite is a word Jesus invented.  I guess he knew what he was talking about, even way back then.)

…He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus, but he talks like a gentleman.

…“Why?” is rarely a useful question.  However, most things start with a “Why?” whether we know it or not.

…I know we can make it, if we take it slow.

…It’s good to be successful at something, even if no one knows you are.

…”I mean, why does anyone do anything?”  (I interviewed a writer I really admire, and when I asked her [the lame, pedestrian question] why she writes, that was her answer.)  It was sort of a shun, but appropriately so, and very sage at that.

…Success is a heavy subject, like happiness—they’re two twin bricks weighing each other down, waiting for some grout to cement them together.

…When someone says they believe in you, what does that really mean?

…Drawing conclusions--reading between the lines--is probably a bad thing, but sometimes what’re you gonna do?  All you’ve got is what you’ve got to go on.

…A good question is: who really has your back when it matters?

…Ten thousand square feet is a lot of space.  No wonder I feel lost most of the time.

…When things start to matter less is when you know you’ve lost your way.

…If I tried, I could be thinner.  After all, we bought the treadmill for a reason.

…If I really tried, I would have written the great American novel by now.

…I’m trying to be a good friend to certain people I know.  I’m working hard at it.

…I just called myself on a cellphone but the message said nobody’s home.  Hmmm.

…I’m a real Nowhere Man, sitting in my Nowhere Land.

…When I die, please cover my coffin with books or pages.  Read a poem.  I don’t care if you totally understand it or not.  Just enjoy the music in the words.

…One of the things I’ve discovered is that most people hate talking about death, even if it’s not their own.  Right away they curl up and cringe.  Mortality is like politics and religion; a subject to be avoided.  Death is a scary thing for most people, yet it’s inevitable and right around the bend.

…It’s so quiet that my breath just said it was getting very sleepy.

…“I’m going to bed soon.  Don’t wait up for me.”--that’s a white lie I often tell myself.

...I like it when everyone’s asleep but me, when the lights are all off around the lake and I can imagine everybody slumbering peacefully, having fantastic dreams.  There’s a comfort in that.

…I realize I often come across as gloomy.  But that’s the thing about only reading words on a page—there isn’t a face, an expression you can gauge things from.  You can’t see my smile.  My light.  I’m mostly optimistic.  When my team’s way behind, I still think they’ll find a way to pull it out, even if my friends have switched the channel to Project Runway.  I believe my children are going to have happy lives, even if they’ve both been through some deep shit.  I believe someone will find a cure for cancer sooner than later, and I believe someone else will figure out how to stop global warming.  After all, we found a way to patch that hole in the ozone which was supposed to burn us up back in the ‘80s.  I believe in goodness even if I don’t always sound like it.

…Isn’t it interesting, or amazing even, how you remember nearly all of your school teachers?  I mean, like from 2^nd or 3^rd grade?  See if you can pull up their names in your head right now. 

…Mrs. Marshall was my 5^th grade teacher.  She had long, salt and pepper hair, sort of looked like an attractive witch, and was quite stern.  I really liked her, though I don’t know why.  At one point, I must have done something wrong because she yanked my scalp back and almost broke my neck.  At another one point she paddled me through my jeans.  That was a long time ago, but I did really like her.

…I was such a shy kid.  I wonder how I got in trouble so much.  That’s something I don’t recall.

…Make the most of it.  That’s a good idea.  Really, isn’t that what life’s about?

…Life is short—that’s probably the most trite, and true, comment ever.

…Life is beautiful.  That’s definitely true, and it’s also the name of my favorite movie, as well.

…Buongiorno, Principessa!