—HOW’S THAT BRICKLAYING COMING?

  

…It was a frosty day yesterday, but the ducks still had a meet-and-greet out on the dock. 

 

…If you’re lucky enough to miss someone, even terribly, you’re lucky indeed.

 

…“Christians are hard to tolerate. I don’t know how Jesus does it.” Bono

 

…Maybe you’re happier now and you don’t even know it.

 

…A while back, it was one of my best friends’ birthday and when I asked what the best part was he said, “Nothing specific. I just sort of embraced gratitude for being alive.” It sounds corny now, but it didn’t then. I totally understand what he meant.

 

…“I think my life didn’t seem my life until I started to write.” Louise Gluck

 

…How many things do you know with absolute certainty? I’m only asking, because I’m wondering it myself.

 

…Slang is tricky, especially contemporary slang. Like “convo” for instance. I kind of can’t stand that made up word.

 

…I wish I had something to lean on for all those times I think it doesn’t matter.

 

…Why can they say “expletive” or show “F**k” on the TV but not just say the fucking word? 

 

…"Possibly, then, writing has to do with darkness, and a desire or perhaps a compulsion to enter it, and, with luck, to illuminate it, and to bring something back out to the light.“  Margaret Atwood

 

--Kuntz, you know what your problem is?

--I have a few guesses.

--You think too much.

 

…When you meet someone who has an Andy Gibb 8-Track in their El Camino, well, you’re probably going to be best friends for life.

 

…This was posted on the neighborhood website a while ago and is pretty funny:  

“I don’t mean to be a Grinch, however...to those of you who are placing Christmas lights/decorations in your yards, would you please avoid anything that has Red or Blue flashing lights together? Every time I come around the corner, I think it's the police and I have a panic attack. I have to brake hard, toss my wine out the window, put out my joint, fasten my seat belt, throw my phone on the floor, turn my radio down, and push the gun under the seat. All while trying to drive. It's just too much drama, even for Christmas. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.”

 

…So many people want to be right all the time. I hope I’m not one of them.

 

…Isn’t it supposed to be getting lighter earlier and staying light out later? Maybe in Mexico it is.

 

…"Everyone should see how complicated, how deeply troubled, and yet at the same time, beautiful and awesome the world can be. Everyone should experience, even as the clouds gather, what's at stake, what could be lost, what's still here."

- Anthony Bourdain

 

…Can you ever be too skinny? Probably. Probably not.

 

…I haven’t seen a Clay City in a long time.

 

…You can fuck up and still be okay as long as you ________.

 

…It seems like what really matters most is effort—how much you exert with yourself, those you love, and the things that matter most to you.

 

…This little office fireplace is already getting a workout and not even a single snowflake has fallen.

 

…From where you stand, it might look like I don’t know what I’m doing. And you’d be correct.

 

…“Remember when Tom Holland was asked why he doesn’t walk the red carpet with Zendaya at her premieres?

It was in an interview just before their engagement, and he said:

‘Because it’s not my moment, it’s her moment, and if we go together, it’s about us.’

That hit me. Sometimes, love isn’t about always being in the picture… it’s about knowing when to step back and let someone else shine.

It’s about being proud from the sidelines, knowing their moment doesn’t make you any less important.

Supporting someone doesn’t mean you have to be front and center. It’s being there, quietly cheering them on, and celebrating their wins like they’re your own.” --Prince Umpad

 

…Sometimes a long time ago seems like it was yesterday, and then sometimes yesterday feels like it was a long time ago.

 

…Sometimes the things that seem the most stupid are the ones that save you in the moment.

 

…Fantasy football is for suckers. Just look at me: I’m one of them.

 

…I saw a series of photographs of my (biological) dad yesterday. In most of them, he looked a lot like me. He looked happy. I know he was a super nice guy, everyone said so. I wish I would have known him.

 

…I don’t know why people complain about their doctor. I’ve never had one that wasn’t kind and incredibly competent.

 

…I read an article about a New Jersey woman whose husband died when she was 88. She then told her family she was starting fresh, sold her house and belongings and bought a walk-up in Manhattan. She’s now 102 years-old. She gets her own groceries, gives guided tours at the MoMA and walks a minimum of 3,000 steps every day, even if it means traipsing back and forth inside her home. I think about her almost every time I meet her step threshold, and then I keep walking.

 

…From an article in the Wall Street Journal; “Forget new year’s resolutions. Instead, imagine your deathbed.” 

That’s probably good advice, but I skipped the article.

 

…I think I’ll take a pass on the whole driverless car idea.

 

…Maybe it sounds stupid, but I think it’s pretty sad that how much they can afford determines whether a couple has children, or how many they have.

 

…People who don’t follow through on what they say ranks right up there with things I hate the most. 

 

…Maybe there will be robot puppies pretty soon. That’d be interesting.

 

…There’s something to be said for checking things off a list.

 

…Two things I never got around to: Learning to speak a foreign language fluently and learning to play an instrument competently.

 

…Do you ever notice how the nightly news begins with urgent, heart-pounding music to set the mood, and how they wait (literally) until the last minute to report good news? 

 

…I was always going to live in Manhattan for a year, but then I was going to do a lot of things.

 

…I’ve got nothing to complain about, yet, on occasion, I do it nevertheless.

 

…It’s a little peculiar to have strangers working so hard to lower your heart rate. 

 

…When you get older you realize that people who say, “There’s always tomorrow,” have no idea what they’re saying.

 

…One of my goals this year is to write a happy piece that doesn’t totally suck.

 

…I suppose we all have friends whose friends we don’t like. I know I do.

 

…Never say never. Now those are words to live by.

 

…Here, read this. It has many pictures. Later we’ll get ice cream.

 

…By and large, writers are quirky people. Introverts. Creative types. Observant and perceptive. I love them. I just wish so many didn’t whine so much.

 

…People who love to read always get moved way up on my most liked list.

 

…One of the dumbest questions you can ever be asked is when your dentist, after stuffing metal instruments inside your mouth and poking around, says, “Are you nervous or something?”

 

…If 2025 is a fourth as successful as 2010, it’ll be a win not seen in a while.

 

…But don’t worry, there’s still time to ruin everything.