I had a plan. Wednesday night, I heard about the coming weather. Back to back snow storms. Eleven inches between Thursday and Saturday night. This was my chance for a long, snowy run. Years ago, a friend once accused me of Overuse of Superlatives Syndrome. With me, everything is either the best or it’s the … Continue reading But I had a Plan…
Blogging
Untitled #1
It's a million pounds of marble. It sits like a massive boulder or a bomb-shelter two blocks from the Square, which is what we call the center of town, even though it’s a traffic circle. Past the comic book store and the candy shop and the place that sells expensive shoes from Sweden, the century … Continue reading Untitled #1
Censored by Decency
Gone are the days when I wake up an hour early to write. Long gone. This morning I was up at 5:15. That early alarm setting allows forty-five minutes of quiet self-care—coffee, news, cereal—before my kids grudgingly get out of bed. They require constant and sometimes not-so-gentle nudging towards door to start their school day. … Continue reading Censored by Decency
Shades of Gray
I recently changed jobs. I now work at a library—the finance manager: budgeting, analysis, accounting. My office, with it’s dark-stained wooden doors and frosted transom windows, is massive: 14’ x 14’ x 14’. It’s true, my office ceiling is fourteen feet high. Susan says I suffer from TMF—that’s too much furniture: three desks, five filing … Continue reading Shades of Gray
Dream Job
Blog readers of a certain age grew up with Seinfeld—NBC’s famous sitcom about nothing. That was the tagline: A show about nothing. Have you ever considered what that really means, “about nothing?” No big topics were ever raised. Each episode delved into the minutiae of the characters’ lives. We know about their personal grudges, their … Continue reading Dream Job
Dry. Part 2.
Dry. It really sucks. Dry, meaning alcohol free, it’s miserable. At least it is for me. Lots of us (dry people) use the euphemism sober. It sounds adult, more mature. I don’t call myself sober because of what it implies, which is: not drunk. It’s not that I’m not not drunk, it’s just that before, … Continue reading Dry. Part 2.
BADASS (the book)
Does anyone wonder where I’ve been? Am I being self-aggrandizing to think that anyone cares when I write a blog post? That people might notice when I’m not commenting on their blog? When I go missing for what, two weeks? I just passed my five-year anniversary as a blogger. If you’re astute, you might look … Continue reading BADASS (the book)
Six Word Story – Part II
Sometimes, I fall flat on my face. That’s seven words, this isn’t a six word story, it’s an essay about my most recent post, Six Word Story . As bloggers, I suppose we all do this from time to time. We post something truly special (to ourselves), our A-work, and no one sees the brilliance. … Continue reading Six Word Story – Part II
Six Word Story
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, kaboom. Copyright © 2018 by Jeff Cann All rights reserved. No part of this story, in full or by segment, may be copied, reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including analog or digital print, photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior … Continue reading Six Word Story
Bloggers: What is your best post?
There’s a guy who reads my blog every day. He reads my new posts over and over again. He rereads last month’s posts on a regular basis. And he reads through the old stuff, the stuff I wrote years ago, even when no one else does. That guy is me. I like what I write, … Continue reading Bloggers: What is your best post?
Teresa Gunn
Reprint: A story that pre-dates this blog: “Hey Teresa, can I buy you a beer?” This was a safe question in the mid-eighties. Beer was cheap. Miller or Bud, maybe a Heineken for an extra fifty cents. No getting blind-sided with a Dogfish Head IPA or a Troegs Mad Elf at eight bucks a bottle. … Continue reading Teresa Gunn
World Blogger
Greenland! Bah! My biggest failure. Does anyone even live there? This is a map of my blogging world. If the country is colored, someone in that country has read my blog. Or at least they’ve landed on my blog. How many actually read it? I need better analytics to answer that question. Last week, I … Continue reading World Blogger
Everyday Strange
Of the seventy-nine million blogs on the WordPress platform, Everyday Strange is one of my favorites—and yes, I've read them all. Most blogs, like mine, require a time investment. Five or ten or fifteen minutes of reading through heavily preened prose trying to decipher the point, if there is one at all. Conversely, the posts on … Continue reading Everyday Strange
Out and about
Today I'm honored to be invited as a guest-blogger on ScottRCyre.com. Scott is an author, a freelance copywriter, and a Christian Pastor. He and I have been friends on WordPress for a couple of years now. Check out my post, An Itch I Gotta Scratch, and check out Scott's blog. -- Jeff
Buzz, revisited
Last week, I posted a story, Buzz, that paints a picture of drug use. It wasn’t encouraging or cautionary. It offered no opinion. It was simply a snapshot, a vivid scene featuring four intoxicated teens. It went nowhere. Stats-wise, it was my worst performing story in a year. Thirty page-views, two commenters, not so many likes. … Continue reading Buzz, revisited
The Other Stuff
#3 - List all aliases: I was asked about aliases recently as I filled out paperwork for my FBI background check. In Pennsylvania, if you plan to work with children, you need to prove—up-front—that you don’t have a propensity to molest them. To facilitate this, your employer needs to review your “Rap Sheet.” The first … Continue reading The Other Stuff
Resolve (a.k.a. shithole)
There was a time not so long ago when appalled by something Donald Trump said I’d attack my laptop spewing venom at the internet and cleanse myself and the rest of the world with the flames of my desire to negate his foul commentary with decency and righteousness. After staking out moral high-ground I held my head high smug … Continue reading Resolve (a.k.a. shithole)
Killing time on New Year’s Eve
I am killing time by blogging, I'm not saying that it's time to kill. Sometimes what I write is crap. This time, I’m blaming Eli. If you don’t frequently read my blog, you won’t know that Eli is my son. He’s twelve. His favorite activities are computer use and destroying shit—usually by fire—but always under … Continue reading Killing time on New Year’s Eve
Ben Huberman
I’m pathetic. No, really, I am. I’m checking my Gmail account twenty-five, thirty times a day. Each time, as I click the link, I repeat my silent mantra. Ben Huberman. Who’s Ben? He’s an editor at WordPress. The guy who sent me an email last July telling me that my blogpost Follow was about to … Continue reading Ben Huberman
Do Not Reply (Satire)
Jeff Cann <donotreply@wordpress.com> Time: December 16, 2017 at 2:26 pm IP Address: 77.175.23.87 Contact Form URL: https://jefftcann.com/contact/ Sent by a verified WordPress.com user. Name: Melissa Marks Email: melissa.marks72@yahoo.com Website: http://lifeisstrangeblog.com Comment: Hi Jeff, I’ve been reading your blog for nine months now, and I have to say, receiving your posts are the highlight of my week. I feel … Continue reading Do Not Reply (Satire)
