—I SPILLED MY GUTS AT THE RED LIGHT

 

…“No one comes around here to feel saved.” Jay Halsey

 

…Oops, I forgot who I was again.

 

…I think I got a hanger.

 

…Who cares what it looks like as long as it’s the right thing?

 

…That could be a hit. I’m not lying.

 

--You better pull over.

--I’m not pulling over.

--Why not?

--Because he’s going to beat the shit out of me.

 

…There isn’t a bigger buffoon, or narcissist, anywhere:

Donald Trump Is Renaming The Kennedy Center After Himself 

 

…A guy teaches an octopus how to play piano:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/12/09/octopus-plays-piano-keys-tako/?utm_campaign=wp_the_optimist&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F461b453%2F693ec2edcbd7b0639b16badd%2F6482a13851bc4a6b178d831b%2F16%2F61%2F693ec2edcbd7b0639b16badd

 

…That was a bad throw, Chief.

 

…So it’s just garbage tomorrow? Are you sure?

 

…Careful...

…(From the Associated Press):

 He said it four times in seven seconds: Somali immigrants in the United States are “garbage.”

It was no mistake. In fact, President Donald Trump’s rhetorical attacks on immigrants have been building since he said Mexico was sending “rapists” across the border during his presidential campaign announcement a decade ago. He’s also echoed rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler and called the 54 nations of Africa “s—-hole countries.” But with one flourish closing a two-hour Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Trump amped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric even further and ditched any claim that his administration was only seeking to remove people in the U.S. illegally.

“We don’t want ‘em in our country,” Trump said five times of the nation’s 260,000 people of Somali descent. “Let ’em go back to where they came from and fix it.” The assembled Cabinet members cheered and applauded. Vice President JD Vance could be seen pumping a fist. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, sitting to the president’s immediate left, told Trump on-camera, “Well said.”

 

...Here and now, nothing else means nothing.

 

…SHOOTING REPORTED LESS THAN 4.6 MILES FROM YOU HOME

 

…THEFT REPORTED LESS THAN 5.1 MILES FROM YOUR HOME

 

…I’m going to need handlebars tonight.

 

…No one should have to defend what he loves.

 

…We want grief to remain invisible because we can’t do anything about it.

 

…As you can plainly see, that didn’t work out so well.

 

…We know ourselves by how we are known.

 

“How can you hide from what never goes away?” Heraclitus

 

…You can never say what should be until you know more.

 

…Even though my best friend has absolutely no tolerance for bullshit, he has a lot of tolerance for people he knows who are completely full of bullshit. I don’t claim to have that talent, but I give it a nod.  

 

…I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer, but this is real, the truth, and it’s not only despicable, but somewhat curable if we had politicians with guts…So far this year, the United States has experienced more than 400 mass shootings. Seventy at schools alone.     

 

“The narcissism of depression is a hole with very steep sides.” Mark Doty

 

…“If you are blessed with success, use it to lift others. No man should celebrate victories while children have no chances. If you have more than you need, it is not truly yours; it belongs to those who need hope.”  Cooper Kupp

 

…It’s hard not to be greedy, whether you’re rich or poor. Something in us always makes us want more, even when we have enough.

 

…Metabolism drops with age, and I don’t have much metabolism left. 

 

…Love blows up the dam and then you have to decide whether it’s worth repairing.

 

…I like a look of Agony,

    Because I know it’s true.

          --Emily Dickinson

 

 

…Oh, right, here I am.

 

…Sometimes love is pretty unpolite, but it’s still love.

 

…“Maybe working on the little things as dutifully and honestly as we can is how we stay sane when the world is falling apart." Haruki Murakami 

 

…This is probably good enough, right? So why doesn’t it feel good enough?

 

…Okay, so here we go again.

 

…I’m not sure what I was doing. I think I was just looking for some good news. 

 

…The thing is you have to keep your eyes open, and that’s always the hardest part.   

 

…“I’ve never believed any of the research on breakfast being the most important meal of the day. Most of that was sponsored by cereal companies.” Marion Nestle, who edited the first Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health

 

…It’s hard to know where genetics fit into all of this.

 

…I’m pretty sure I know where I’m going tomorrow.

 

“You don’t tell a giraffe what to do. You ask.” Linda Rutledge

 

…Everything, and everyone, holds a goodbye for someday.

 

…Some advice I give myself a few times a day: Wear knee pads when you go looking for your ego.

 

…“Here, truth had no place. And anyway, nine times out of ten, it was easier to tell a lie than to watch pity distort someone’s face. I didn’t want to be pitied.” Aria Aber, Good Girl

 

…Stand up straight at the foot of your love, 

 

..You don’t ever want to be that whiny bitch, but, well, sometimes you are.

 

… “Success means nothing if it doesn’t serve others.” Cooper Kupp

 

…More lunacy from your President: 

Trump Stands by Use of the word “Retarded” Criticizing Tim Walz.

 

…And more still:

On Monday, Dec. 15, the president fired off a social media post, saying Reiner's death was "reportedly due to the anger he caused others through... a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME."

 

 

…From The Washington Post:

One in three Latinos who voted for Trump regret their decision, according to a poll.

 

…Only one in three? Are you kidding me?

 

 

…“You will never be let down by anyone more than the one you love. That’s how gravity works.

 

…I mean, somebody’s gotta win, right?

 

…Memories stick to things. You have no control over the, none at all.

 

…“Perhaps it was true—maybe we really did all share the same kind of ordinary sorrow.” Aria Aber, Good Girl

 

…Few things are as perfect as snow. Maybe stars or the ocean, but there aren’t many.

 

…Sometimes it’s difficult when you see people with their clothes on.

 

…“Home is not the place you’re from, Woody. Home is the place you want to be.” West With Giraffes, Lynda Rutledge

 

…Everyone has a few stories they’d rather not tell.

 

…I’m not sure you understand the gravity of the situation. 

 

…I saw a doe and her fawn out by the blueberry bushes yesterday. It was awfully wet, so I’m guessing they were awfully hungry to be out there in that swampland.

 

…When things are falling your way, it’s easy to get overconfident, but when they’re not, well…

 

…If it’s too much for you, you have to say so.

 

…He thought I was hiding something. Because I was.

 

…What else? What else? There’s gotta be something. 

 

 

—ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE

 

Shattered

The weather in Mom’s eyes looked crooked again so Dad took me out in the fields to learn how to be a man. The rifle stood nearly as tall and heavy as me. A doe munching a bush stopped in mid chew and stared back at us looking stupid but curious. Pull Dad whispered though the deer wouldn’t move so I didn’t either. 

That night Dad shot an arrow through the window in his underwear. I could hear thunder coming from Mom’s eyes through her flimsy bedroom door. I would have knocked but my trigger finger had been shattered like a bolt of lightning that wasn’t going anywhere. 

 

—I’M JUST DOING ME, I GOT NO BAD DAYS

 

Hunger

  

--Hey, good morning. Just wondering, not that I really care, but, how many people were shot yesterday?

--You mean killed?

--Yeah, you know, but don’t judge me already.

--Do you mean some school shooting, or off the grid stuff, like Chicago on a wild weekend?

--Humor me.

--Hold on a sec. I’m checking my phone. (…) Well, it seems like all the kids that were murdered this morning were actually praying while they either got shot in the head or the back. They had their Bibles though, so that’s something. 

--How many kids was it this time?

--I don’t know, hold on, let me see. Oh shit, like, 22, like a whole neighborhood of kids.

--You’re joking right?

--I’m not that clever.

--And they’re all dead now?

--No, no. There are plenty of survivors. Some kids ducked under their pews. Plenty of people are praying for them.

--What’s a pew exactly?

--A hard bench, or a thing that’s meant to save you from evil. It’s a sacred place to pray.

--Oh, okay. I’d like to have a pew.  Maybe we could get one put in after the scaffolding comes down.

--Smart thinking, You’re always thinking, that’s why I love you. 

--I love you, too. So much.

-- Are you hungry?

--Thank God you asked. I’m fucking famished.

--I hoped you’d day that.

 

—I’LL BE HONEST, THE BOWLING ALLEY KIND OF SOUNDS NICE

 

…Sometimes it’s impossible to be a best friend.

 

…Other times, there’s no way out.

 

…Pace yourself, please.

 

…That’s plenty.

 

…The smart play is usually silence.

 

…“Thank you for your thoughts on the matter.”

 

…“Well, that’s the thing you always get. Every person says, “Oh, my mom loves you. My daughter loves you. My girlfriend loves you.” It’s never, “I love you.” Jacob Elordi

 

…That’s going to kill me, but then again, I should be dead already.

 

…I’m really not sure why you want to keep me alive, but, God bless you.

 

…“Isn’t that why we are here? To write another poem for a small woman to read, and then another/’ Heather Bell

 

…For the record, I’m flunking technology and anything mechanical.

 

…Beating yourself up is never a fair fight.

 

…It’s an easy promise to make, but a harder one to keep, and I’m already thinking up excuses.

 

…“It takes a lot of work to stay happy, to stay clear, and to be proud of yourself. You can try to drink through it, but you’re sober in the morning and you got to live in those hours too.

 

Starting at the age of ten, I was teaching myself how to be a professional liar. How to convince people that I was something other than what I was thinking inside.

 

I married a friend as opposed to a girlfriend. Since I only wanted to get married once, I thought, Find someone I’m sexually attracted to that’s also a friend. That’s the bull’s-eye.

 

I know when I’m a pain in the ass to my wife or to my kids, and I try not to do that. It’s lazy to do that. It takes a little bit more effort to be the best version of yourself, and I try to get that done each day. So hopefully that’s the takeaway from my life—people say thanks for trying."

Jason Bateman

 

…Guilt feels like something stuck between my teeth.

 

…“Knowing it and seeing it are two different things.” Suzanne Collins

 

...I made it all the way here. Who could have predicted such a thing?

 

…Please accept my apologies for the barrage.

 

…A lot of the risks I took when I was younger, with Oz and others, crazy shit I never should have done or would never in a million years do now, was some of the best times of my life. Like, legendary stuff. So, explain that dichotomy to me.

 

…"Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven't time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time." Georgia O'Keefe

 

…I try to send at least one kind, encouraging note a day to someone, usually a writer. (John said to do two a day, but that’s pretty hard.) Once, in a blue moon, I’ll actually receive one myself. It’s incredible how much a few words can mean:

Dear Len,

I keep your book in my living room and read pieces here and there. Yesterday, I came across "Personal History," and couldn't stop reading it over and over. All the melting images are perfect. 

Cheers,

P

 

…When people don’t love things as much, or in the way that you do, it hurts, but you have to remind yourself that art is subjective. Like I hate tomatoes, but most people love them.

 

…I’m not anywhere I need to be right now.

 

…I’m not sure why it means so much to me, but it does.

 

…Hey, Grasshopper, how many smart choices are you making?

 

--How do you even know that guy?

--I don’t.

--Isn’t he your friend?

--Yeah, but.

--But, What?

 

…To be honest, I’m not usually an optimist anymore, but I really thought I could win.

 

…“The agreement to participate in this life is a pact with grief.” Mark Doty

 

…I’ve seen the mess from the blade and it’s not pretty.

 

…Here’s one thing you should know—I’m the least techy person you know.

 

…Sometimes I’m smart and therefore make good decisions, but I’ll    need a lot of. Grae on th3 others. 

 

…“People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons. From within.” Ursula K. Le Guin

 

…A really good question to ask yourself is—But why?

 

…I can’t even remember all I’ve forgotten.

 

...Somehow, I forgot yesterday was yesterday.

 

…I felt blue a couple of days ago. Maybe you did as well, and if so, I’m sorry.

 

…Thank you for peddling me. I know how heavy I can be most times.