—THE NIGHT’S WHAT YOU MAKE IT

 

 

…“And I was really just writing for me. It was a way of talking then. So, I talked to myself a lot.” Toni Morrison

 

…A lot of days, I don’t know what I’m doing, but I do it anyway.

 

…Bobby Sherman was one of my boyhood idols, never quite up there with David Cassidy, of course, but I revered him. He seemed to have everything I didn’t—talent, boyish good lucks, confidence. And the guy wore dog collars. Really. And because he wore them, they became a thing for a while. There’s a lot I could say about his passing, but it would just be more gibberish that only means something to me.

 

--Give me a kiss.

--Why?

--'Cause I need one.

 

…It’s only an island if you look at it from the water.

 

...“When I am on camera, I have a kind of confidence that I don’t have in real life.” Barbara Walters

 

…I think the reason sports are important and popular is because you always want something to root for.

 

…I really think that I try to listen, read about, and understand the opposing side, but it honestly feels like listening to lunatic after lunatic talk. 

Like, “We should make January 6^th a national holiday.”

Like, “Autistic people will never be able to hold real jobs.”

Like, "Ukraine was the one who started the war with Russia." 

Fuck off.

 

…I’ve met my share of unreliable narrator’s, and I bet you have, too.  

 

…I’m not the best company inside my own head.

 

…“If you ask me what I believe in,

     I will say music and the sun.” 

    –Greg Kosmicki

 

…It’s usually when I don’t want to, that I know I really need to.

 

…The you in the poem changes when you make it.

 

…I’m not too proud to admit that I get a little too full of myself from time to time. How about you? 

 

…Who needs who more? What’s it matter?

 

…Growing up I had dreams, women, legs akimbo, Hell was there to tell me, all that shit was sinful

 

…Good grief. If you’re seriously going to pick apart Sharon Olds’ line breaks, then you should just go fuck yourself.

 

…I’m jealous of how other people can pause a long time before they respond. That’s a switch I don’t have.

 

…There are just over 8 billion people in the world but I don’t think there’s a single other one that says, “Whoa, Sparky,” just before they do something that could be suspect.

 

…My Junk mail is really worried that I might have dementia, or incontinence. Maybe they know something I don’t.

 

…It’s a little bit silly, all of these mountains of books surrounding me, but they make me feel safe for some reason. So, there’s that.

 

…I’m not sure when it became questionable to be a patriotic, or how that even happened, but I guess it doesn't matter since I’m not so sure I am anymore.

 

…It’s amazing, even to me, how many times a day I say, “Fuck that guy.”

 

…Was it a placebo? Was it a distraction? Tell me how the wind blows. Tell me if it matters.

 

…Falsehoods and Misleading statements are what scared journalists say instead of “lies.” 

He’s a rampant liar. 

Just say it. 

 

…I know I shouldn’t pay attention to a headline like this--Fat Joe Sued for $20 Million by Former Hypeman in Explosive Suit: Alleges Rapper Engaged in Sex Acts With Minors and Coerced Him Into ‘More Than 4,000 Sexual Acts to Maintain His Standing’--but I have a lot I could say about it. 

 

…The thing about a one-trick-pony is that sooner or later you start expecting another trick.

 

…Here’s something—when you’re not sure, just go for a walk.

 

…“There are fronts and facades celebrities put on, but behind that, you know, there’s always a kid inside you.” Bette Middler

 

…I still play Words With Friends. I know that sounds lame. But I like it. What’s strange is the ads that come up—like “leakproof underwear” or “chair exercises for seniors” or a million bra ads.

 

…I really have no idea how I got so lucky. It probably should’ve been you.

 

…Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you.

 

…Catch me, if you can. (And good luck with that.)

 

…“There is another side, the human, imperfect side, and I wanted to learn about it.” Barbara Walters 

 

…"Meals make the society, hold the fabric together in lots of ways that were charming and interesting and intoxicating to me. The perfect meal, or the best meals, occur in a context that has very little to do with the food itself." Anthony Bourdain

 

…I’ve got two days left to get it done. Cross your fingers for me, please.

 

…Thank God Pandora’s Box left that last thing in there.

 

…Every Tuesday’s fatter

 

…You’re the one who delivers the good news. And that’s the difference.

 

…I actually have a document, a file, saved, entitled, “Bits,” which is a receptacle for sentences or words or sounds that seem intriguing, things that might make for a good story or poem. It’s now (currently) grown to 125 pages. I should probably hunker down and get busy.

 

…What’s the point of that?

 

,..I don’t mean to sound melodramatic or alarming, but I can understand why some people O.D.

 

…Most days, don’t you just want to say, “Fuck off”? I know I do. (And have several times in this post already.)

 

…Okay, this could be a mistake.

 

...It’s always the “but” that stops you, that makes a difference, and then everything about what you just heard changes.

 

…I think I have, but maybe I haven’t. And that’s the problem.

 

…What’s weird is saying, “I don’t have anything going on in my life right now,” and meaning it completely, which always, immediately, provokes the question, “Are you okay?”

 

…If you discount lawyers, I bet no one in the entire country knows what racketeering is. 

 

…“Maybe the secret to pain was to respond to it in ways that made the pain worth it.” Kevin Wilson, Run for the Hills

 

…I’ve come to view the current administration the same way I eventually did my mother—I don’t believe a fucking thing they say.

 

…This is a truth that can’t be undone—when your kids are happy, you’re happy.

 

“When I know what people think of me

I am plunged into my loneliness. The grey

hat bought earlier sickens.

I have no purpose no longer distinguishable.

A feeling like being choked

enters my throat.”

        --Robert Creeley

 

…Sometimes it can be a good thing when you wake yourself up from snoring.

 

…One thing I’m pretty good at is making other people feel happy even on those days I don’t feel that way myself.

 

…“Everybody throws a Hail Mary when you’ve got nothing left to lose.” Suits

 

…Sometimes when I’m watching TV and I see some handsome young guy on some insipid SVU, FBI, CSI-type show, I’ll remember the first time, years ago, when I saw a handsome young guy on a similar show and thought—that guy is younger than me, in fact, everyone on shows now is younger than me, or younger than I’ll ever be anymore.

 

…I saw an article from The Hollywood Reporter yesterday that read: That’s It, The F Word is Officially Boring. 

I think I disagree.

 

…Almost everyone I know is better at saying No than I am.

 

…“There’s not a better feeling than the one you get from helping somebody out. I would recommend it to everybody.” Bobby Sherman

 

…What you pray for says everything you don’t.

 

…How lucky to have a birthday, even when no one knows you do.

 

…I think I actually love birthdays now.

 

…Okay, that might be more than I need, but Thank you.

 

…“Do you think I sigh a lot?”